Becoming Bridge-Builders and Disrupters: Navigating Racial and Gender Realities in America Today
March 8, 2018
Deepa Iyer
South Asian activist, writer, and lawyer
America is becoming a nation in which communities of color will comprise the majority population by 2040. This dramatic demographic shift creates a historic opportunity to address the long-standing racial and gender inequities in our nation. At the same time, these demographic changes are accompanied by an increase in racial anxiety, backlash, Islamophobia, and xenophobia. How can we understand these two simultaneous phenomena? How are communities and institutions grappling with them? How do we build learning environments that recognize and acknowledge the racial realities of a changing America?
Alongside the Korenman lecture, Iyer also offered two workshops on March 7, 2018.
The workshops will be an opportunity to understand basic concepts and strategies that are rooted in an anti-racism approach, with an emphasis on countering Islamophobia, using race-plus analyses, and implementing best practices to encourage allyship and solidarity. The faculty workshop will also include discussion of best pedagogical practices.
Deepa Iyer is a South Asian American writer, lawyer, and racial justice advocate. Iyer’s areas of expertise include the post 9/11 America experiences of South Asian, Muslim, Arab and Sikh immigrants, national security and immigration policies, and racial equity and solidarity practices. Iyer is a Senior Fellow at the Center for Social Inclusion and a member of the 2017 Soros Equality Fellows cohort.
Co-sponsored by the CAHSS Dean’s Office, Provost’s Office, Africana Studies, American Studies, the Dresher Center, Global Studies, Media and Communications Studies, Modern Languages, Linguistics, and Intercultural Communication, the Mosaic Center, and the Women’s Center