In ARHU, a Series of Talks Centering Race, Equity and Justice
January 26, 2021
The series is part of a larger campaign to address systemic racism, inequality and justice in curriculum, scholarship, programming and community engagement.
By ARHU Staff
The College of Arts and Humanities (ARHU) at the University of Maryland is launching the Dean's Colloquium Series on Race, Equity and Justice, a yearlong colloquium and conversation series, hosted by Dean Bonnie Thornton Dill, to introduce audiences to faculty expertise on issues of systemic racism, inequality and justice. The events are free and will take place virtually.
The first colloquium will be held Wednesday, Sept. 16, 2020 from 9-10 a.m. and features Perla Guerrero, associate professor of American studies and U.S. Latina/o studies. Guerrero’s talk will engage the audience in a discussion on racialization, the different ways Latinx communities are perceived and the way these communities address justice and equity. It will be followed by a conversation with the dean and a Q&A.
Upcoming talks will focus on topics ranging from ‘racial battle fatigue’ in Black theatre and culture to incarcerated women and media activism. A full list with links to register is available below.
“This series provides a special opportunity for people to engage with ARHU faculty members, whose expertise on aspects of race, inequality and justice can promote thoughtful conversations and generate ideas for social action and change,” said Thornton Dill.
The series is part of a new college-wide campaign to address racism, inequality and justice in curriculum, scholarship, programming and community engagement. Among other actions, a recently announced 21-person Committee on Race, Equity and Justice, led by Associate Dean Linda Aldoory and made up of faculty, staff and graduate students, will serve to advise the dean on goals related to the eradication and dismantling of structural racism and on strategies for ensuring equity and social justice throughout the college, campus and community.
Each event is free. These conversations are also ARHU TerrapinSTRONG events.
The full list of Spring 2021 colloquia is as follows:
Feb.17, Quincy T. Mills, associate professor in the Department of History, whose talk is titled “Movement Money: Crises, Relief and Democratic Practice.” Archive video available to watch here.
April 13, This colloquium will engage the audience in a talk titled “The Lakeland Digital Archive: Toward an Equitable Community/University Collaboration” and features:
Mary Corbin Sies, associate professor of American studies and board member for the Lakeland Community Heritage Project
Trevor Muñoz, director for the Maryland Institute for Technology in the Humanities
Violetta Sharps-Jones, historian and genealogist and board member for the Lakeland Community Heritage Project
Maxine Gross, historian of Lakeland and president of the Lakeland Community Heritage Project
Archive video available to watch here.
April 29, Jessica V. Gatlin, assistant professor of art, whose talk is titled “Interdisciplinary Forms of Resistance.” Archive video available to watch here.
May 6, GerShun Avilez, associate professor of English, whose talk is titled “Black Queer Freedom: Spaces of Injury and Paths of Desire.” Archive video available to watch here.
The full list of Fall 2020 colloquia is as follows:
Sept. 16, Perla Guerrero, associate professor in the Department of American Studies, will discuss: “How Latinx communities organize for justice and equity and/or experience inequality in different work spaces.” Archive video available to watch here.
Oct. 6, Marisa Parham, professor in the Department of English and director for the African American Digital Humanities initiative (AADHUM), will discuss: “Purpose, Frivolity, Futures: What, really, is inclusion?” Archive video available to watch here.
Oct. 26, Scot Reese, professor in the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies, will discuss: “Racial ‘Battle Fatigue’ in Black theatre and culture.” Archive video available to watch here.
Nov. 6, Julius Fleming, Jr., assistant professor in the Department of English, will discuss: “His book, ‘Black Patience: Performance, Civil Rights, and the Refusal to Wait for Freedom." Archive video available to watch here.
Nov. 17, Tamanika Ferguson, presidential postdoc in the Department of Communication, will discuss: “Incarcerated women and media activism.” Archive video available to watch here.
Dec. 8, Richard Bell, professor in the Department of History, will discuss: “African American political culture, and his book: ‘Stolen: Five Free Boys Kidnapped Into Slavery and Their Astonishing Odyssey Home.’” Archive video available to watch here.
Top photo: (Top left to right) Quincy T. Mills, Jessica V. Gatlin, GerShun Avilez. (Bottom left to right) Maxine Gross, Violetta Sharps-Jones, Mary Corbin Sies, Trevor Muñoz. Photo illustration by Piama Habibullah. Portrait of Violetta Sharps-Jones by Joe Ryan and The Diamondback.