For more information, disability accommodations, or to request the related materials to review before the event, please contact Sarah Hentges at sarah.hentges@maine.edu.

February 10—Slavery in the American Criminal Justice System

The documentary, 13th explores Section One of 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution which states: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.” Sharon McMahon Sawyer (Justice Studies) will lead a discussion where we will discuss 13th and the relationship between this Amendment abolishing slavery in the United States and our current American criminal justice system.

February 17—Race & Racism After Genomics in U.S. Biomedicine

In this talk professor Kate Darling (Social Science/Sociology) discusses some of the ways that the molecular revolution has shifted concepts of race and ancestry among scientists, clinicians, and lay people. Race science has a long history in biomedicine. In our discussion, we’ll think through the ways we know race and racism in contemporary biomedicine.

February 24—Social Determinants of Health

Vickie Ireland (Nursing) will lead the discussion as we examine structural racism and poverty and how this contributes to inadequacies in health and wellness. We will also relate this information to rural populations and discuss Social Determinants of Health within the state of Maine.

March 3—Race and Social Justice in Ralph Ellison’s “Battle Royal”

Lisa Botshon (English) will lead a discussion on the short story “Battle Royal” by Ralph Ellison, which was first published in Horizon magazine in 1947. A slightly revised version of this short story became Part I of Ellison’s most famous work The Invisible Man, which came out in 1952. We will be reading this piece in conjunction with a Danforth Gallery show on The Invisible Man by Portland photographer Séan Alonzo Harris.

March 10—Art and Social Justice

Join Amy Rahn (Art) and special guest, Portland photographer Séan Alonzo Harris, as we discuss his work as well as his Danforth Gallery show on The Invisible Man. Harris’s work has been named by Maine Magazine as one of the “60 Most Collectible Artist in Maine” and has been featured by USA Today, LL Bean, Yankee Magazine, and Harvard Radcliffe Magazine, among others. He teaches Maine Media Workshops and a variety of collaborative, community-driven projects with nonprofit organizations. More information about .

March 24—Race and Social Justice Issues with Climate Change

Dr. Kati Corlew (Social Science/Psychology) will present research and implications regarding the human dimensions of climate change, with a particular focus on social justice, racial minorities, indigenous populations, and developing nations. Please be prepared to contribute to the Q&A and discussion session that follows.

March 31—Panel Discussion: New Mainer’s Public Health Initiative

Readings/Resources: please review New Mainers Public Health Initiative

Susan Baker (Biology) will chair this panel as Abdulkerim Said, director of New Mainers Public Health Initiative will talk about his work. Abdulkerim is a former student and UMA graduate. Jusuf Abdi, a local PA and UMA grad as well, may be willing to join him.

April 7—Penobscot Nation and Tribal Law

Judge Eric Mehnert and Magistrate Judge Rhonda Decontie will be joining us to share their experience and expertise concerning their work with the Penobscot Nation Tribal Court.

April 21—What Do You Stand For?

Justin Michael Williams argues that we are often fighting against racism when it is more productive to fight for the world that we imagine and envision. Sarah Hentges (American Studies) will lead this discussion as we consider how we move forward, as individuals and as a UMA community, and as a nation.

Readings/Resources: Justin Michael Williams, “Ending Racism: How to Change the World in One Generation”

April 28—Poetry for Social Justice: Reginald Dwayne Betts’ Felon

In anticipation of Reginald Dwayne Betts’ keynote reading at the Plunkett Poetry Festival on April 29, Noel Tague (English) will lead this session as we read and discuss his collection of poems, Felon. During class we’ll spend some time reading the poems aloud, connecting to earlier discussions in the semester about mass incarceration, and thinking about how poems can function as vehicles of resistance and change. We’ll also set aside some time to experiment with erasure poetry during class.

For more information, contact Sarah Hentges at sarah.hentges@maine.edu and/or talk to your advisor to see how these classes fit into your overall major program.

JUS 315: Tribal Law

The instructor for this course is Judge Eric Mehnert of the Penobscot Nation Trial Court, who developed a unique Wellness Court model, based on restorative justice principles and native healing practices. The Wellness Court deals with the aftermath of generations of systemic trauma and does an excellent job at restoring people to full participation in their community.
This is a completely different model from our usual court system. If you have an interest in social justice, substance abuse rehabilitation, child and family welfare, Native American culture, or cultural awareness, this course is for you!

HTY 321: US Immigration History

The history of immigration is central to both American history and evolving ideas of what it means to be an American. In this class, we will examine immigration history through several lenses, including social histories of diverse ethnic groups, evolving legal policies, waves of refugee and asylum seekers, and the shifting place of the “immigrant” in the American national imagination.

INT/HON 188: The Interdisciplinary Colloquium: Race and Social Justice

Spring 2022: Offered Thursdays from 4 to 5 pm (and online asynch “delayed viewing” section)
This year’s academic theme is Race & Social Justice. In this 1-credit spring course, students will learn about race and social justice from a variety of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives. Each week a different faculty member will present/lead discussion based upon an assigned reading, film, or other text. We will consider, for instance: literature/art/poetry, science, and social science approaches as well as health inequities, state violence, the prison industrial complex, identity and representation, embodiment, power and empowerment, and proactive and productive ways to work toward social justice. Students who are interested in earning 3 credits on the theme of race and social justice may choose to enroll in INT 389 in addition to INT/HON 188.
In short: each week for this class students will have a short reading or video to watch each week, a class meeting to attend (or recording to watch), and a post/reply or journal option or one-hour conversation group. A short final reflection will conclude the work for this course.

INT 389 (2 credits)

Topics in Interdisciplinary Studies: Race & Social Justice
Students who enroll in INT/HON 188 may opt to enroll in this 2-credit course, giving them 3 credits total. Students in this 2-credit course will be asked to engage in online discussion and to complete a paper/project on the theme of race and social justice to be presented at the UMA Student Research Conference on April 22, 2022. Offered asynchronous online.

AME/INT/WGS 430E: Embodied Social Justice: Racialized Trauma and Cultural Transformation

What does it feel like to be centered, grounded, and in your body? How does this state allow us to heal and hold space for others to heal? Embodied Social Justice is an interdisciplinary field/focus of study that combines and expands critical educational theories, critical race theories, and intersectional feminist theory along with trauma studies, transformative justice, Somatics, neuroscience, and so much more. In this course, we will explore theoretical foundations as well as embodied practices as we develop a deeper understanding of individual and structural transformation and empowerment. We will consider the role of the body in social and cultural movements, intergenerational and racialized trauma, compound and collective trauma, cultural appropriation, critical consciousness, and mind/body healing practices like yoga and meditation. 3 CR. Prereqs: any AME, INT, or WGS course OR permission of instructor.

]]> /news/explore-race-social-justice-for-credit-this-spring/ Thu, 21 Oct 2021 18:06:57 +0000 /?p=12953 … Read More]]> This spring students have several opportunities to dive deeper into the academic theme of Race & Social Justice through interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary lenses. These courses are flexible and are open to all students and meet elective requirements in any program. They might also work as substitutes for a specific requirement (just ask!).

For more information, please contact Sarah Hentges at sarah.hentges@maine.edu.

INT/HON 188: The Interdisciplinary Colloquium

Race & Social Justice, 1 credit, real-time Zoom or asynchronous

Spring 2022: Offered Thursdays from 4 to 5 pm (and online “delayed viewing” section)

This year’s academic theme is Race & Social Justice. In this 1-credit spring course, students will learn about race and social justice from a variety of disciplinary and interdisciplinary perspectives. Each week a different faculty member will present/lead discussion based upon an assigned reading, film, or other text. We will consider, for instance: literature/art/poetry, science, and social science approaches as well as health inequities, state violence, the prison industrial complex, identity and representation, embodiment, power and empowerment, and proactive and productive ways to work toward social justice. Students who are interested in earning 3 credits on the theme of race and social justice may choose to enroll in INT 389 in addition to INT/HON 188.
In short: each week for this class students will have a short reading or video to watch each week, a class meeting to attend (or recording to watch), and a post/reply or journal option or one-hour conversation group. A short final reflection will conclude the work for this course.

INT 389: Topics in Interdisciplinary Studies: Race & Social Justice

2 Credits, directed/independent work, taken in tandem with INT 188

Students who enroll in INT/HON 188 may opt to enroll in this 2-credit course, giving them 3 credits total. Students in this 2-credit course will be asked to engage in online discussion and to complete a paper/project on the theme of race and social justice to be presented at the UMA Student Research Conference on April 22, 2022. Offered asynchronous online.

AME/INT/WGS 430E: Embodied Social Justice: Racialized Trauma and Individual, Cultural, and Collective Healing/Transformation

3 credits, an advanced but accessible course that provides the opportunity to consider and practice embodied approaches to the topic.

What does it feel like to be centered, grounded, and in your body? How does this state allow us to heal and hold space for others to heal? Embodied Social Justice is an interdisciplinary field/focus of study that combines and expands critical educational theories, critical race theories, and intersectional feminist theory along with trauma studies, transformative justice, Somatics, neuroscience, and so much more. In this course, we will explore theoretical foundations as well as embodied practices as we develop a deeper understanding of individual and structural transformation and empowerment. We will consider the role of the body in social and cultural movements, intergenerational and racialized trauma, compound and collective trauma, cultural appropriation, critical consciousness, and mind/body healing practices like yoga and meditation. 3 CR. Prereqs: any AME, INT, or WGS course OR permission of instructor.

Registration Info Center ]]> /news/wiccd-annual-awards-2021/ Tue, 08 Jun 2021 14:53:19 +0000 /?p=11646 … Read More]]> Each academic year the WICCD award is given to a student, faculty, and staff member who each embody WICCD’s mission in their work—a commitment to women, gender, and sexuality while working to challenge injustices and inequalities of all kinds. Nominees can be of any gender and can be submitted by any member of the UMA community.

This year’s WICCD award winners are:

Amanda Brown and Joseph Spiller

WICCD Undergraduate Award

This year’s WICCD Undergraduate award winners are Amanda Brown and Joseph Spiller. Both Amanda and Joseph have been student reps on the newly-formed DEI Council this academic year and have also formed a student DEI Action Club “where students can come together and work towards the changes they feel are needed.”

As a peer tutor, Amanda works with Â鶹APP diverse student body, branching out to support and advocate for students in a number of ways. As a part of the DEI Council Amanda works on the mini-grant, community engagement, and internal policy sub-groups. She has also continued her education through a number of professional development opportunities such as: Gatekeeper Suicide Training, Equity Leadership webinars, ESOL Tutor training through the Literacy Volunteers of Maine, The Maine Multicultural Centers “400 Years of New Mainers” series, Creating Just Schools webinar, and LQBTQ+ Awareness training through Northern Light Hospital.

As SGA and GSA President, Joseph has spearheaded a number of programs and initiatives that work to educate our campus community about diversity around gender, sexuality, and race (among other things). As an Honors student, he has co-organized the Civil Discourse Forums, providing space for students to discuss issues that are often divisive. He has worked to find opportunities for students to learn about diversity from a number of angles—from the personal experiences of impacted individuals to conversations about systemic challenges, social constructions, and institutionalized norms.

LeeAnn Trask, Administrative Specialist CL2, College of Arts & Science
WICCD Staff Award

Our WICCD Award to LeeAnn Trask only begins to recognize the impact and importance of her service to UMA. Anyone who has had the pleasure of working with LeeAnn knows how kind, generous, organized, and supportive she is. Like so many of us, she is always willing to take on extra work in order to make sure we have the resources we need to teach and learn. LeeAnn’s support has been pivotal to so many projects over her years at UMA, but this award specifically recognizes the huge amount of extra work that LeeAnn took on to support WICCD’s Book Grant Program in 2020 and 2021. The success of this program in 2021 created a huge project of ordering books and making sure they got to the grant awardees (in addition to all the other work behind the scenes). Without LeeAnn, we would not have been able to deliver books to 9 faculty and staff and 28 students!

Lisa Botshon, Professor of English
WICCD Faculty Award

Lisa’s scholarly expertise and her deeply held commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion have made her a vital force for greater equality at UMA for decades. Lisa now serves on the DEI Council while she also continues her active work toward justice in her teaching, her research, and in her service to the community. Beginning this year, Lisa has spearheaded the initiative to grow Native American Studies offerings and indigenous land recognition initiatives at UMA. One of the ways that Lisa is most WICCD is in her active support and mentoring of junior faculty members, many who are also involved in DEI work. Lisa has been a key part of the WGS (Women’s and Gender Studies) program and initiated the creation of an American studies minor over a decade ago. She has been a Fulbright scholar twice and has brought a number of diverse speakers and performers to UMA. Lisa’s scholarship and advocacy have done so much to shape positive change at UMA and in the wider community. Her voice has powerfully and consistently moved UMA’s conversations toward a DEI ethic, and perhaps more importantly, a DEI practice.

ABOUT WICCD

WE ARE WICCD!: Women Invigorating Curriculum and Cultivating Diversity
WICCD honors the diversity that exists in Maine by educating our campus and larger community about local, national, and international issues, initiatives, and ideas related to diversity. Because women have been historically underrepresented in social, cultural, political, institutional, and economic spheres, WICCD centers women, gender, and sexuality while working to challenge injustices and inequalities of all kinds. Led by faculty and staff who work toward gender equality and social justice, WICCD provides opportunities for education and engagement to raise awareness around these important intersectional social challenges.

The lecture will be delivered by Dr. Linda Silka of the University of Maine.

Dr. Linda Silka, photo courtesy of the University of Maine.

Dr. Silka is a social and community psychologist by training, with much of her work focusing on building community-university research partnerships. She was the former Director of the University of Maine’s Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center and is now Senior Fellow at the University of Maine’s George Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions. Silka has written extensively on the challenges and opportunities of building research partnerships with diverse and has consulted internationally on how to build community-university research partnerships.

Silka was a member of SSI’s Knowledge-to-Action (K↔A) Collaborative, a group that studied how to better align university research with community needs. The K↔A Collaborative investigated ways to overcome the barriers between knowledge and action and build partnerships between Maine’s academic institutions and diverse stakeholders in order to better solve sustainability challenges throughout the state.

In addition to her teaching and research duties, Silka is a Member and Fellow of both the American Psychological Association and the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues. She has previously served as the Director of the Center for Family, Work, and Community at the University of Massachusetts. Silka has been published in multiple peer-reviewed publications including the Journal of the New England Board of Higher Education, Australasian Journal of Community Engagement, and Gateways: International Journal of Community Research and Engagement.

For more information, please contact Dr. Robert Kellerman at robert.kellerman@maine.edu.