May 8, 2009
LC-N Faculty Joyce Reed Helps Plan 16th Annual Dealing with Difference Institute
Normal, Ill. – Joyce Reed, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Lincoln College-Normal (LC-N), is part of a committee coordinating the 16th annual Dealing with Difference Institute, in partnership with academics from across Illinois. The event is scheduled for May 19-20.
During the institute, P-12 educators, as well as those from colleges and universities, are invited to explore race and all of its implications, in the realm of political science and social ethics, media representation, anthropology, genetics, as well as brain research. They are encouraged to share new resources that can foster greater understanding by students and faculty alike.
Reed earned an M.S. in Sociology and an Ed.D. in Curriculum and Instruction at Illinois State University. Her area of research and teaching involves sociology, multi-cultural education, and minority relations.
Keynote Speakers include:
Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor of Africana Studies at California State University--Long Beach, who will open the conference with the presentation, “Uprooting Racism, Rethinking Multiculturalism: Toward an Ethics of Sharing.” Karenga, has been a major figure in African-American political and intellectual culture since the 1960s. He helped found the Pan-African cultural celebration known as Kwanzaa. He’s also written many scholarly publications on Africana ethics and sacred wisdom, as well as the books, Introduction to Black Studies and Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture.
Dr. Sut Jhally, professor of Communication at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, will make two multimedia presentations: “Race and the American Dream in the Age of Obama” and “The Joyless Economy: Happiness, Satisfaction and the Market.”
Dr. Ripan Malhi and Dr. Charles Roseman, both professors in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, will discuss “Human Biological Diversity, History, and the Concept of Race.” Drawing from their research in genetics, they will show that race is not a product of the distribution of biological similarities and differences that we see among humans, but a product of social and historical factors.
Other presentations will focus on: how our brains develop answers about others before we know the right questions; the role of critical thinking in analyzing and modifying unconscious judgments; and new internet resources for exploring issues of race in our classrooms.
Questions about the institute should be directed to J.Q. Adams (jq-adams@wiu.edu or Janice R. Welsch jr-welsch@wiu.edu.
Lincoln College-Normal (LCN) is a small, student-oriented, four-year institution offering bachelor's and associate's degrees as well as certificate programs through small interactive classes and high-quality academic programs to a diverse community. Since many of our students work and raise families, LCN provides both full-time and part-time study options as well as day, evening, hybrid and online classes.
Updated 2/18/09