WYOMISSING, Pa. — The Penn State Berks Social Justice Collaborative will host a series of webinars, titled “Critical Conversations,” that will serve as a model on how to discuss difficult social issues. These webinars are open to the entire Penn State Berks community and they will be hosted on the new Berks LionSide Chat zoom channel the first Friday of every month, from 12:15–1:15 p.m., beginning Sept. 4.
This fall, the series will focus on structural determinism, whiteness and the "Black Lives Matter" movement, titled "Race 101." For the first webinar on Sept. 4, faculty and students will introduce the key themes of critical race theory and then apply them to the article "Being Black in America Can Be Hazardous to Your Health" by Olga Khazan, which appeared on The Atlantic website in July/August 2018.
To ensure informed and meaningful participation, audience members are encouraged to review each webinar's materials on the website beforehand. Although Berks faculty will moderate these conversations, students will lead discussions as well as help answer audience questions.
The Penn State Berks Social Justice Collaborative works to further the principled exploration and engagement of critical social issues through programming, curricula and college involvement. With an honest, evidence-driven understanding of history, oppression and structural inequality, the collaborative champions the ideals of equality and justice. Above all, its members are committed to a future in which all members of our college community and society have been empowered to reach their full potential.
For more information, please contact Justin De Senso at [email protected] or Jessica Schocker at [email protected].
