JEDI

[The Mitigating (Micro)aggressions workshop will be available during the Spring 2023 semester.]

This activity-based workshop focuses on bystander training within (micro)aggression situations. (Micro)aggressions range from subtle comments to overt prejudice action that can span across all areas of discrimination including gender, race, religion, and many others. (Micro)aggressions are prevalent in our society and deciding how to proceed when witnessing these situations as a bystander can be difficult.  This training gives participants the opportunity to learn and practice mitigating various (micro)aggressions, while attempting to preserve the relationship between the aggressed and aggressor. Mitigating (micro)aggressions is an ever-changing skill that requires daily practice, but the tools obtained within this workshop will help participants in their journey to being better community bystanders.

[The Identity and Privilege workshop will be available during the Fall 2022 semester.]

This workshop explores the social identities participants may have (including race, gender, sexuality, social class, disability, and others) and the privileges that often accompany some identities within society.  Social identities are based on the groups or communities a person belongs to.  These exist within larger social systems that privilege some identities while oppressing others, in both historical and contemporary contexts.  Participants will engage in small group discussion throughout the session. The workshop concludes with a discussion of intersectionality, the interaction of various social identities and the ways we experience both oppression and privilege in society, as well as the ways we can better work with others based on the awareness of social identities, privilege, and oppression of ourselves and others.

[The Anti-Racism workshop will be available during the Spring 2023 semester.]

This workshop introduces and explores the concept of anti-racism.  Anti-racism is the continual process through which racism is identified in systems, policies, practices, and attitudes, and actions are taken to eliminate this racism. This workshop will introduce the concept of anti-racism and distinguish it from “not being a racist.”  The session will then present and explore examples of “non-racist” policies and discuss actions that could be taken to transition these policies to being anti-racist. Being anti-racist is an active process. This workshop seeks to provide participants with the opportunity to start this process or further evolve along the anti-racist continuum by fostering a safe space for the exploration of racism and anti-racism at levels from individual to systemic.

[The Courageous Conversations workshop will be available during the Fall 2022 semester.]

A courageous conversation is when we decide to enter a dialogue with someone about an issue relating to power, privilege, inequality, and/or oppression. This session is designed to provide participants with the tools to engage in difficult conversations around areas of identity – particularly regarding people from marginalized backgrounds. The session begins by establishing issues that may be barriers to having a courageous conversation before unpacking ways one may break down those barriers.  The session takes participants through a series of scenarios and works with participants to identify ways to have productive, constructive, and positive courageous conversations. The goal of a courageous conversation is not to change someone’s mind, but to open someone’s mind to different perspectives and ways of life, so they may approach future situations with greater empathy, sensitivity, and awareness of difference.

[The Gender JEDI workshop will be available during the Spring 2023 semester.]

This workshop seeks to provide participants with the knowledge and skills to successfully navigate issues around gender identity, gender expression and pronoun usage with confidence. Participants will learn basic vocabulary about gender identity, gender expression, sex assigned at birth, and pronouns and have the opportunity to learn more about gender identities in a low-risk space where it is okay to make mistakes during the learning process. Participants will learn how to create basic protocols and policies that are more inclusive of all gender identities and expressions. Participants will have the opportunity to take a second part of this session that builds upon skills gained in part one to better assess pedagogy, procedure, and institutional language around gender identity and gender expression.

[The Racism and Stress workshop will be available during the Fall 2022 semester.]

Marginalized communities more frequently encounter stress-inducing situations than those not facing discrimination. This session discusses how the chronic stressors of discrimination, racism, and associated traumatic events negatively impact physical and mental health. The content presented surveys the biological, sociological, and psychological impacts of stress on the body and how stressors associated with racism and discrimination can be passed on from generation to generation. The workshop will provide participants with an opportunity to reflect on how racism and discriminatory practices in our society perpetuate these cycles of stress and what can be done to help break these cycles.