Renewal
Virtual Symposium | May 13-14, 2022
Funded by the Mellon Foundation and New England Humanities Consortium (NEHC), the Faculty of Color Working Group (FoCWG) invites applications for a virtual symposium scheduled for Friday May 13 and Saturday May 14, 2022 themed “Renewal.”
Over the last two years, higher education institutions across North America have responded to the very public assaults on Black, Latinx, Asian, and Indigenous life by making renewed commitments to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, suggesting a sea change for our futures as faculty of color. To what extent can we take these commitments in good faith, and what steps do we take toward our own successes and futures? This year’s theme of renewal offers an opportunity for faculty of color to take stock of what we value about our teaching, research, service, advocacy, and personal lives. Is this the time in your career where you want to move into administrative positions in order to hold the university accountable to its purported values? Do you want to pivot your research toward that passion project that you left behind in graduate school? What other professions are you excited about as a complement or alternative to academia? Are you looking to re-prioritize home life, activism, body, and spirit? In the unpredictable cycles of the COVID-19 pandemic, what can rest and rejuvenation look like for the long and short term? With renewal, we hope to offer an optimistic, but always careful, space for faculty of color to find capaciousness and possibility amidst the limiting systemic conditions of our profession, and the world at large.
To creatively imagine and forecast these possibilities, to promote supportive professional networks and create cross-disciplinary mentorship opportunities, the FoCWG invites applicants for our third symposium. The symposium, open to faculty of all ranks, runs Friday May 13 to Saturday May 14. It includes several workshops by distinguished faculty, social hours, and opportunities for in-person gatherings for those in the New England area. Friday includes several virtual 75-minute workshops, including sessions directed specifically toward associate and contingent faculty. Saturday features satellite gatherings across New England for a 3-hour social / networking event. Workshop presenters include Dr. Christina Sharpe (York University), Dr. Jamila Michener (Cornell University), Dr. Stephanie Evans (Georgia State University), Dr. Nitasha Tamar Sharma (Northwestern University), Dr. Laura Fugikawa (Colby College), Melody Barnes, JD (University of Virginia), and Dr. Sarah Willie-LeBreton (Swarthmore College).
Participants from across the United States are welcome to apply for the virtual component of the symposium. Please note that space will be limited to ensure a high level of interaction among all participants. All symposium fellows will receive a stipend to defray any costs incurred attending (meals, childcare, travel, etc), and to reward active participation across the two days.
Interested individuals should submit a brief letter of application (PDF, up to one page) outlining what the applicant hopes to gain by attending the workshop as well as an abbreviated Curriculum Vitae (up to 3 pages). Please submit your materials via this application portal by April 1, 2022. All fellows will be asked to complete a questionnaire relevant to planning the symposium and for identifying specific FoCWG priorities moving forward. Please distribute this call widely to appropriate potential applicants and feel free to direct inquiries to Kareem Khubchandani.