Upcoming Events

March 29 1-2pm: Diversity Brown Bag on 200-level Lit Surveys

Panelists: Andy Crank, Christopher Love, and Lauren Cardon

Zoom link: https://uasystem.zoom.us/j/94873616492

April 7 3-4:15pm: Student Voices Town Hall

Flyer for Student Voices Town Hall event

The English Department Diversity Initiative, in partnership with the department’s Diversity Committee, will hold a virtual Student Voices Town Hall on Wednesday, April 7th 3-4:15pm CST centered on the experiences of undergraduates. Student panelists will speak on the following prompt for 5-7 minutes each, and the remaining time will be open to Q & A:

Describe a way that you have encountered challenges related to inclusion, representation, or equity as a student at UA. What strategies have you used to manage this challenge? What changes would you like to see among faculty or institutionally–from the department or the university as a whole–to help create a more inclusive, equitable environment?

Panelists: Sala Bandele-Jackson, Aleah Brown, Jeffrey Kelly, Valerie Lawhorn, and Caitlyn McTier

Zoom link: https://uasystem.zoom.us/j/99646837059?pwd=T2Nkd1IvRmt6OFc2WVJaOE5taTlVdz09

Past Events

Spring 2021

January

January 28 & 29: First Year Writing presents Dr. Asao B. Inoue. RSVP to fywp@ua.edu with ‘Workshop YES’ and/or ‘Keynote YES.’ Session 1, Keynote Lecture: “What Does it Mean to Form an Antiracist Orientation to Teaching Writing,” Thursday, January 28, 4:00-5:30 pm CST. Session 2, Faculty Workshop: “Labor-Based Grading Contracts as Antiracist Classroom Writing Assessment Practice,” Friday, January 29, 1:00 pm – 2:30 pm CST.

February

February 19: Zoom brownbag workshop focused on DEI values and concerns specifically related to teaching EN 205 and EN 207. The workshop is an offshoot of the Diversity Brownbag Series organized by Lauren Cardon and Jenifer Park, and it is co-sponsored by Strode. 1pm. Zoom info TBA.

March

March 1: The [Name This] Open Mic Series – Mapping the Margins

Everyone involved with this series has been dedicated to fostering voices within the University of Alabama. Following the protests of last summer in response to the murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, and other Black lives lost to racial injustice and systemic racism, we decided that it was important to create an event dedicated to fostering voices from all marginalized communities. As a result, we have created the “Mapping the Margins” edition of the open mic, in which we want to encourage a multitude of minorities speakers, including but not limited to people that are ethnic minorities, have LGBTQ+ identities, are part of the neurodivergent community, have disabilities, or possess any number of other marginalized perspectives, to celebrate diversity and highlight their own experiences. We intend this space to amplify voices from a multitude of marginalized communities, identities, and backgrounds while opening a conversation around intersectionality.

Past Events

2020

January

January 15-31: Social Work Reading Buddies program at MLK Elementary. Interested participants can sign up to be a reading buddy here, or purchase a book for the school’s wish list.

January 31: Diversity Workshop Series Accessible Syllabus workshop with Dr. Anne-Marie Womack, Morgan 301, 2-3:30pm (Registration Required)

Accessible Syllabus Workshop

February

February 2: PRISM presents a screening of The Same Difference (2015 documentary by Nneka Onuorah) at the Ferguson Center Movie Theater, 3pm.

February 27: Diversity Workshop Series Students and Mental Health workshop with Prof. Cade Collum, Morgan 301, 5pm

flyer for mental health workshop

March

March 24: Diversity Workshop Series Inclusive Lesson Planning workshop with Prof. Lauren Cardon, Morgan 301, 5pm (NOTE: event was moved online due to the university’s COVID-19 policies and semester completion plans.

April

April 17: Diversity Workshop Series, Workshop and Keynote with FYW guest speaker Dr. Asao Inoue, time and location TBA (NOTE: Because of the university’s semester completion plans in light of COVID-19, this event will be postponed until fall.)

August

August 14: Building Inclusive Classrooms in an Online Environment, a webinar on strategies that will help them more effectively build virtual classrooms that foster a sense of inclusion. Facilitators Cassie Smith and Nathan Loewen, 1pm. More info here.

September

September 25: Faculty Webinar Series, Teaching With Tension: A National Election, A Pandemic, State-Sanctioned Violence and Strategies for Talking about Race in Our Current Moment. Facilitators Dr. Cassie Smith and Dr. Mary Meares, 1pm. More info here.

September 30: Druid City Pride, poetry and prose reading, 7pm: https://www.facebook.com/events/1684063828453372

October

October 14: Brown Bag Diversity Workshop 1 featuring panelists Madeline Kinkel, Kwoya Fagin Maples, and Daniel Novak; Topic: How can I incorporate a diversity component in my class if the subject matter doesn’t have an immediate connection to race, ethnicity, or many of the other ways we typically think of diversity? Time: 1pm-2pm. Zoom.

October 15: Kayleb Rae Candrilli, recipient of a 2019 Whiting Award and author of Water I Won’t Touch (Copper Canyon, 2021), All the Gay Saints (Saturnalia 2020), and What Runs Over (YesYes Books, 2017), will be joining us for a virtual event co-sponsored by The Women and Gender Resource Center and The Safe Zone Resource Center. Time: 6-7:30. Zoom.

November

November 19: Faculty Webinar Series, When the Multitudes Come: How to Channel Student Activism to Build Strong Networks of Allyship in the Classroom. Facilitator Dr. Utz McKnight, 1pm. Registration and more info here.

December

December 2: Diversity Brown Bag Workshop 2, featuring Josh Weathersby, Seth Stewart, and Khay Billingsley

2019

February 18: Diversity Symposium “Teaching with Tension,” featuring workshop led by Drs. Lee Bebout and Philathia Bolton, faculty panel of Drs. Lexi McGee, Andy Crank, Nathan Loewen, Ashley Burge, and Kirstin Bone

Diversity Symposium Flyer