(NAME-MCE) White Privilege Conference Institutes

[Warren Blumenfeld]

PLEASE forward this announcement as widely as possible, and ask your 
colleagues to forward as well....


Registration for The Ninth Annual White Privilege Conference in 
Springfield, MA is full!
But it is not too late to register for a one day institute on Wed. 
April 2 and/or Saturday April 5.

*Registration is limited, and will close once filled, so please 
register now to ensure your spot!

Register for Institutes at: www.uccs.edu/wpc

       Wednesday Institutes (full-day single-focus sessions) at WPC9:
       1. Critical Liberation Praxis in Schools: Teaching for Social 
Justice- Paul C. Gorski
Intermediate

Moving beyond the discourse about all that is wrong with our schools, 
this institute will focus on the creation and maintenance of 
liberatory praxis for teachers. How can we work within our spheres 
and influence and how can we expand our spheres of influence to 
create equitable and just learning environments in which students 
engage and prosper despite oppressive educational policy? How can we 
prepare ourselves and our students to be change agents regardless of 
right-wing attacks on progressive movements in education? We will 
connect the theoretical to the practical in order to paint a picture 
of liberatory teaching praxis as it relates to curriculum, pedagogy, 
school climate, classroom culture, and teacher comradeship.

       2. Complex Positionality: Jews, Whiteness, and Identity- 
Warren J. Blumenfeld and Christopher MacDonald-Dennis
All Levels

Many U.S. Jews often find themselves questioning the racial space 
they occupy, given that most are afforded White-skinned privilege, 
but understand that Jews have been historically seen as racialized 
others. Moreover, Jews confound established notions of identity 
because of the complexity of Jewish identity. This day-long institute 
will explore, in depth, the history of Jewish racialization, the 
multifaceted nature of Jewish identity, and the connection between 
anti-Semitism and racism.

       3. What's in it for us?: An Institute for People of 
Color-   Jorge Zellabos, Robin Parker and Pamela Smith Chambers
Intermediate

Working on the elimination of racism often focuses on helping white 
people understand racial privilege. Although persons of color who 
have attended past WPCs acknowledge that cross-racial collaboration 
is crucial, they have also found that too little attention is paid to 
the intellectual, spiritual, physical and emotional toll the work 
takes on persons of color at the conference and beyond. In this 
institute, we will investigate the consequences of working with white 
people who are struggling to come to terms with white privilege. Join 
us as we explore (1) the collective experience of working with white 
people and other person of color on anti-racism; (2) the ways in 
which sexism and homophobia compound the challenges of anti-racism; 
and (3) the strategies people of color can use to be more supported 
and empowered as they work with white people and other people of color.

4. The Role of Listening and Emotional Healing in Ending Racism- UER 
- Rachel Noble and Veronica LaCrue
All Levels

No person grows up in this society without personally suffering and 
internalizing the hurts and distortions of racism. The effects of 
these hurts and distortions continue long after the racist events 
themselves, confusing us, making life more difficult, and interfering 
with our organizing efforts to end racism. These effects include both 
the ongoing damage from being targeted by racism and the self-doubt 
and self-denigration that result from living in a racist society. 
This workshop will focus on how these hurts can be removed and how 
paired listening and mental and emotional healing as practiced in 
Revaluation Counseling can be used to do that.

       5. A Critical Dialogue on Poverty, Racism and Education- Fran 
Davidson, Kimberly Francisco, Charlotte Jahn, Tilman Smith
Intermediate

By shining the spotlight on children living in poverty, of which 
children of color are disproportionately represented, we are more 
likely to include in our discussions and practice effective ways of 
educating ALL of our children. Participate in an analysis and 
critical dialogue on poverty, racism and education. The outcomes for 
this institute are as follows: uncover the root causes of poverty and 
the myths and misconceptions embedded in the societal bias around 
children and families who live in poverty; examine the intersection 
of institutional racism and poverty and its impact on the healthy 
growth and development of children; identify and critique current 
educational models and strategies in educating children in poverty; 
and share resources to support the quality of learning for all 
children, specifically children living in poverty.


       6. Privileges in the LGBT Community- Jonah Aline Daniel, 
Jessica Pettitt, Tre Wentling and Jordon Johnson
Intermediate

A lot of attention is given to the oppression of the Lesbian and Gay 
communities, less so for the Bisexual or Transgender communities. 
This Pre-Conference will take these ?usual? conversations one step 
further. What are the privileges within the L, G, B, and T 
communities? How are these privileges used to contribute to the 
oppression of others? What can be done to use these privileges to 
advocate for subordinated groups within and outside of the LGBT 
community? Join us: the conversation starts with you.

      7. CLOSED Communicating about Race and White Privilege, Using 
Critical Humility: Experiential Workshop-
  European American Collaborative Challenging Whiteness

       8. Understanding Whiteness/Unraveling Racism- Laurie B. 
Lippin, Stephanie Puentes and Heather Young
Beginner-Intermediate

Participate in a pre-designed, experiential curriculum for 
students/faculty/others to explore what it means to be white in a 
white-supremacist culture where whiteness is the background against 
which people of color stand out as "other." The model provides a 
framework that encourages openness and honesty for white people and 
people of color to explore together their questions and feelings 
about race and diversity issues. The goal is to bring participants to 
a new consciousness around white identity and to form meaningful 
alliances with each other, so that we can begin changing behaviors 
that keep separation and racism in place. This UW/UR model provides 
activities for reflecting on one's own internalized whiteness and 
assists in remapping old practices that keep white dominance in 
place. Participants not only personalize the work, but in so doing, 
they build trust with each other, which helps them explore difficult 
topics. Institute participants leave with concrete ideas they can 
begin to use immediately with students and peers to further efforts 
at understanding whiteness and unraveling racism. This Institute will 
benefit those who want to become more effective antiracist 
multicultural educators.  Purchase of the book: Understanding 
Whiteness/Unraveling Racism: Tools for the Journey is not required 
but is available as a resource for the training.

       9. Youth Institute

  This new, one-day, pre-conference institute is designed for high 
school students interested in exploring issues of social justice and 
liberation. The program will introduce participants to a range of 
social justice concepts and notions about liberation. Participants 
will increase their skills in identifying social justice issues, 
naming and analyzing manifestations of oppression, and discussing 
elements of liberation. Using theatre, spoken word, music, simulation 
and other forms, students will create and present strategies for 
interrupting oppression and enacting liberation. ( This one-day 
Institute is separate and different from the three day WPC Youth 
Leadership Conference)

       10. Understanding White Privilege-  Francie Kendall
       All Levels

       Frequently, the assumption is that all participants at WPC 
will have an extensive understanding of how systemic white privilege 
works in our personal lives and in the world. While that may be true 
for some, others feel that they need a stronger base of knowledge so 
that they can make better use of the sessions at the conference. This 
day-long pre-conference session is for participants who want to work 
with others to sharpen their knowledge and understanding of white 
privilege as it affects people personally and institutionally.

       This daylong institute is designed to:

       .  Enhance our clarity about the necessity of doing our 
personal work in order to be effective anti-racists and identify 
strategies to make that work most strategic;

       .  Explore why, as white people, it is in our best interest to 
do the hard work required to understand what it means to be white;

       .  Examine the barriers that keep us from being able to see 
what it means of be white and have privilege; and

       .  Increase our understanding of how systems of 
oppression-racism, sexism, classism, heterosexism, Christian 
hegemony-interact to increase the impact of each system.


       Saturday Institutes (full-day single-focus sessions) at WPC8

       1. Navigating Difficult Situations and Triggering Events: 
Focusing on Ourselves- Kathy Obear
All Levels

Social justice educators often feel ?triggered? when we try to 
discuss issues of liberation and oppression in dialogues and 
educational sessions. Unexpectedly, we feel strong, intense emotions 
that may feel overwhelming or disorienting. Often, we respond in ways 
that are less effective and may shut down the conversation and the learning.

Effectively navigating ourselves in triggering moments requires 
significant self-awareness and skill. In this intensive, interactive 
workshop participants will have the chance to:

         a.. Discuss the common triggers many social justice 
educators experience when facilitating liberation work
         b.. Identify their personal hot buttons and the ty pes of 
triggering situations they encounter in this work
         c.. Examine how they react when they are triggered
         d.. Identify some of their intrapersonal ?roots? that might 
explain why they feel triggered by certain types of situations
         e.. Identify and practice pract ical strategies to navigate 
themselves when they feel triggered
         f.. Practice ways to respond effectively when they feel 
triggered in dialogue with others

   2. Learning In the Home and at the School House: Explicit and 
Implicit Learning from the Living Room to the Classroom- Cyrus M. Ellis
Intermediate to advanced

This institute is designed to provide educators, administrators, 
support staff and community members with concrete and systemic 
approaches to address the culture of formal education. Attendees will 
examine the culture of K- 12 education by unveiling the complex 
nature of diversity (i.e. communal/familial), the impact of 
privilege/oppression on communities & education, and the impact of 
varying degrees of cultural competence on the preparation of 
students/teachers, curriculum development and educational policy. 
Particular focus will be afforded to the construction of a course of 
action to immediately address curricular issues, the parent/teacher 
interaction and the child/teacher interaction.

       3. Interrupting Whiteness and College Faculty Self-reflection: 
Unpacking a Toolkit for Liberation using Social Justice Education and 
Critical Race Theory- Cristy Casado Tondeur, Vanessa 
Martinez-Renuncio and Joy Rain
Intermediate

Critical liberation praxis in today's college classroom engages 
students and faculty in a collaborative journey of transforming the 
liberation imaginary into a lived reality. This interactive institute 
will highlight the ways in which social justice education and 
critical race theory inform critical liberation praxis and curriculum 
in understanding constructions of whiteness in the U.S.  More 
specifically offer space for college faculty to share their teaching 
experiences teaching about whiteness.  The opportunities and 
complexities of teaching constructions of whiteness from a critical 
liberation perspective will also be discussed.




Register for Institutes at: www.uccs.edu/wpc

Abby L. Ferber
Director, The Matrix Center for the Advancement of Social Equity and Inclusion
Director, Women's Studies
Professor, Department of Sociology
University of Colorado-Colorado Springs
1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway
Colorado Springs, CO 80918
Phone-719-262-4139
Fax-719-262-4763
aferber at uccs.edu

White Privilege Conference, April 2-5, 2008 www.uccs.edu/wpc
The Knapsack Institute, June 5-7, 2008 www.uccs.edu/matrix=============