麻豆破解版

• Unpacking Student Ratings: 4-5:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, in the Weller Room (Lib 212)  
• Choose-Your-Adventure Pedagogy Conversation: 4-5 p.m. Friday, March 7, in the Weller Room (Lib 212) 
• Choose-Your-Adventure Pedagogy Conversation: 4-5 p.m. Friday, April 18, in the Weller Room (Lib 212)

Blackness in Latin American, Caribbean, and Latina/o/e/x Communities 

Meeting Time: 3-5 p.m. Mondays in the Weller Room (Lib 212)
Max Enrollment: 12 
Facilitators: Bernardo Ramirez Rios, associate professor of anthropology; program director of Latin American, Caribbean, and Latina/o/e/x studies.

Community description

In 2011, Arizona passed legislation banning Ethnic Studies curricula. Alternatively, beginning in 2021, California passed legislation requiring Ethnic Studies curricula for high-school graduation and the baccalaureate degree within the California State University system. This LC invites staff and faculty to examine the interdisciplinary fields of Ethnic Studies and Black Studies as a foundation to explore the history, knowledge, identities, and experiences of blackness within Latin American, Caribbean, and Latina/o/e/x communities and discourses and racial ideologies on blackness within Latin American, Caribbean, and Latina/o/e/x communities. The LC will use popular culture (e.g., art, music, sport, dance, etc.) to critically examine cultural production and representations and incorporate a variety of texts to focus on blackness, ethnicity, indigeneity, and the modern intersections between blackness and the Latina/o/e/x and Caribbean transnational experience in the U.S. Participants will actively engage with anti-racist and anti-colonial matters and the practices and movements in African American and Latinx communities that promote a just and equitable society.  

Together participants will:鈥�鈥� 

• Analyze and articulate concepts such as race and racism, racialization, ethnicity, ethnocentrism, eurocentrism, white supremacy, liberation, decolonization, sovereignty, imperialism, settler colonialism, and anti-racism.鈥�鈥� 
• Explore the intersectional knowledge systems within Black and Brown communities and their contributions to intellectual and lived experiences.鈥�鈥� 
• Deconstruct Blackness within the Latin American, Caribbean, and Latina/o/e/x communities to understand how it relates to current structural issues (transnational politics, immigration, settler-colonialism, multiculturalism, etc.).鈥�鈥� 
• Examine the discourse of 鈥渃ancel culture鈥� related to notions of authenticity and Blackness/ Latina/o/e/x Caribbean, particularly looking at dynamics on college campuses. 
• Describe how structural barriers shape 鈥渕arginalized masculinities鈥� (e.g., legal status, religions, class) in Black and Latin American, Caribbean, and Latina/o/e/x communities and how it manifests in popular culture and other contexts.

To Apply: In 250 words, please detail the course/project/research/creative work/personal goals that draw you to this learning community.鈥疨lease send your responses directly to brios@skidmore.edu by Friday, Jan. 24. 

Beyond the Ballroom: Exploring Systemic Inequities, Representation, and Resilience through Ballroom Culture 

Meeting time: 2:30-4:30 p.m. Wednesdays in the Weller Room (Lib 212)
Max enrollment: 12
Facilitators: Zachary VanGalder, associate director of inclusive career exploration, and June Paul, associate professor in social work

Community description

This LC invites faculty and staff to explore systemic inequity, identity, belonging, and resilience through the lens of ballroom culture, focusing on its historical and contemporary significance for Black trans and queer communities. Central to our exploration, participants will delve into how ballroom culture shapes the experiences of Black trans and queer individuals, influences societal perceptions, and provides insights into fostering visibility, resilience, and solidarity. Through texts such as Ricky Tucker鈥檚 鈥淎nd the Category Is: Inside New York鈥檚 Vogue, House, and Ballroom,鈥� the documentary 鈥淭ongues Untied,鈥� the critically acclaimed series 鈥淧ose,鈥� and curated materials at the Tang, this LC will analyze how media portrays trans folk and its broader implications on societal perceptions and systemic inequities. Exploration will center on questions such as: How does ballroom culture reflect the lives of Black trans and queer individuals? In what ways do media portrayals of ballroom culture shape societal perceptions and either perpetuate or challenge systemic inequities? What lessons can ballroom culture offer about building community and promoting resilience?  
 
In addition to these questions, we will explore pressing issues such as the current political landscape, anti-trans legislation, and the ongoing effects of white supremacy, racism, and transphobia embedded in systems like education, law enforcement, health care, and social media platforms. Discussions will analyze the intersectionality of race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality, and socioeconomic status as represented in media and beyond, paralleling the challenges faced by Black trans and queer individuals in navigating systemic barriers. Together, we will critically examine how these forces perpetuate harm while also identifying and developing pathways to foster allyship and enact meaningful change. Reflecting on media, personal experiences, and broader societal contexts, we will work toward actionable strategies for creating more affirming and inclusive environments, amplifying Black trans and queer voices, and addressing systemic inequities. 

To Apply: 鈥婭n 250 words, please detail the course/project/research/creative work/personal goals that draw you to this learning community.鈥疨lease send your responses directly to jpaul@skidmore.edu and zvangald@skidmore.edu by Friday, Jan. 24.  

From the Inside Out: Embodied Ways of Knowing and Unknowing Blackness 

Meeting time: 2:30-4 p.m. Thursdays, Williamson Sports Center, Multi-Purpose Room
Max enrollment: 12
Facilitators: Kieron Dwayne Sargeant, assistant professor of dance, and Auden Thomas, director of special programs and summer academic programs

Community description

LC posits the human body as a context for knowing. Acknowledging鈥痶he limits of language in defining knowledge and鈥痶he experience of鈥痥nowing, the LC centers on movement exploration as a vehicle for human understanding and asks participants to consider that embodied practices transmit cultural knowledge. Participants will be asked to move their bodies within the African-Caribbean dance context. The LC incorporates two distinct but intertwined sets of activities. One set of activities is discussions of readings about semiotics and the limits of words, about somatic and embodied ways of knowing, and literature on African-Caribbean dance/culture as the context in which we will collectively consider 鈥渂lackness.鈥� The second set of activities is experiential: Dance movement will serve as the point of entry for embarking on an embodied exploration of self and others. Taken together, these two strands of activities provide the foundation for LC participants to interrogate the social construction of 鈥渂lackness鈥� 鈥� to know, un-know, re-know what black is 鈥� and to consider what humanity is and the relationships between blackness and humanity. 
 
To ensure participants benefit from both intellectual exploration and movement-based inquiry, the LC will integrate these approaches throughout the semester. Conceptual discussions precede or follow embodied sessions, allowing participants to draw connections between theory and practice. This ongoing cycle of reading, moving, and reflecting ensures that theoretical ideas and physical engagements inform each other throughout the semester. All staff and faculty participants, regardless of dance experience, body type, or ability, can engage meaningfully in this LC and are encouraged to apply. Movement sessions will emphasize observation, guided participation, and personal adaptation. Facilitators will ensure a welcoming environment, offering modifications for comfort and mobility. Acknowledging diverse cultural backgrounds and experiences, the facilitators will contextualize all dances and readings to foster respectful engagement. By prioritizing embodied learning as a mode of inclusion rather than exclusion, everyone will find their own way into the practices and ideas we explore. 

To Apply: 鈥婭n 250 words, please detail the course/project/research/creative work/personal goals that draw you to this learning community.鈥疨lease send your responses directly to athomas@skidmore.edu and ksargeant@skidmore.edu by Friday, Jan. 24.