In her pathbreaking article “Suspending Damage,” indigenous scholar Eve Tuck argued that researchers’ well-intentioned idea of exploring how systems of oppression created brokenness and despair had the unintended consequence of portraying marginalized peoples enmeshed within these same systems as similarly broken and filled with despair. Borrowing from Tuck’s article, this presentation will explore how well-intentioned educators seeking to teach students about racial discrimination and systems of oppression can harmfully impact their students if narratives of damage are the only stories educators present in a diverse classroom. By the end of the presentation, attendees will learn how they can create a culturally responsive curriculum and an instructional approach that situates the classroom as a democratic forum to contest the narratives we tell, co-construct new knowledge, and emphasize themes of resilience that provide a fuller story beyond conventional narratives of damage.
Dr. Brandon Williams came to SUNY Broome with over 18 years of leadership and teaching experience in university, community-college, and high school settings. At Community College of Aurora, Dr. Williams served as Lead History Faculty and Department Chair of Social Sciences where he played a key role in minimizing achievement gaps across an institution that is an HSI and a Minority Serving Institution, while also overseeing Concurrent Enrollment Programs across 25 schools throughout Denver and Aurora. In his current role at Western Governors University, Dr. Williams helps oversee the fidelity and revision of evaluation operations at an institution that trains 5% of the nation’s elementary educators. He also serves in an advisory capacity for curriculum development and OER support at Georgia Military College. While Dr. Williams received his Ph.D, from West Virginia University, and his Masters of Arts from James Madison University, he is most proud of the Associates of Arts Degree he received from SUNY Broome.
Date: Wednesday, October 23
Time: 1 p.m. – 3 p.m.
Location: TRC Lab (LI 101)
Presenter: Dr. Brandon Williams, Adjunct Instructor, HPSS
Submitted by: Deena Price
Tags: Professional Development
