2018-2019 Seminar
"Intersectionality at the Intersect of Disciplines"
The theme of the 2018-2019 seminar is “Intersectionality at the Intersect of Disciplines.” This theme is broadly construed as the goal of this seminar is for scholars to share and learn about different disciplinary perspectives and methodological tools used to examine intersecting oppressions.
As per Davis (2008, 68), intersectionality can be conceptualized as “the interaction [among] categories of difference in individual lives, social practices, institutional arrangements, and cultural ideologies and the outcomes of these interactions in terms of power.” Originating from black feminist scholarship, “intersectionality” has enabled scholars, activists, businesses and policy makers to better understand and address injustices that occur for individuals and groups from overlapping identity categories, whether race, gender, class, sexual orientation, nationality, etc.
This seminar invites fellows to explore topics related to a field of interest that either have or could benefit from an intersectional lens. This may include political, educational, or environmental processes/policies that result in the exclusion or disadvantage of certain groups, corporate/social entrepreneurial interventions that seek to address and empower disadvantaged groups, representations or sociocultural practices that perpetuate marginalizations or misrecognitions, the sociocultural or psychological aspects involved in the interaction of privileges and oppressions, among many other possibilities.
The Humanities Seminar is proudly organized by the Valente Center with the support of a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The organizing fellow for the 2018-19 Valente Humanities Seminar is Laurel Steinfield, Assistant Professor of Marketing.