Feedback and questions for our guest speakers

Hey All,

Since Kohl, Paco, Jordan and Richard have visited two of my three classes in the last week, here is a space to give them some feedback and thanks for their time, knowledge and energy, as well as possibly ask follow up questions or new ones that have occurred to you since their talks.

Also, Kohl has shared his blog with us: http://www.kohllaff.blogspot.com/ So, now we have another blog to post to for our weekly online work. Once again, I am hoping we can have conversations/discussions online as well as in person, and Kohl is a great person to have discussions with and he is a beautiful writer.

Jordan also shared his email if you want to learn more about body cameras: jladucer@stu.nwic.edu

You may also share any comments about Debora Pontillo's visit if you were in my ENGL& 102 class last week. Besides being a Founding Faculty at Cascadia, she is also a multi media artist, if you would like to see some of her work: http://www.deborabarrerapontillo.com/

It is such an honor and a pleasure to be able to learn with and from so many individuals who bring their academic/intellectual learning, their heart and their humanity to this work.

Week 4- April 25th-May 1st

This week I would like you to research a topic from the following list and then tell us all something about what you found, what you thought about it and what other sources or points of view there are. So, you can start with the resources I've listed here and then branch out and report back to us- being sure to post a link or reference information so we could look at it as well.

The point of this week's discussion is to remember/learn about parts of history that are not always taught or talked about in contemporary media/political/personal conversations. Many of you may be familiar with the phrase "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

The U.S. Eugenics Movement:
http://www.hsl.virginia.edu/historical/eugenics/2-origins.cfm
http://www.hsl.virginia.edu/historical/eugenics/
http://campus.udayton.edu/~hume/Eugenics/eugenics.htm

Forced Sterilization of women and men who were not white, or were considered unfit because of mental, emotional issues or criminal behavior:
http://faculty.utep.edu/LinkClick.aspx?link=lawrence.pdf&tabid=19869&mid=71730
http://www.umw.edu/hisa/resources/Student%20Projects/Cincinnati/students.umw.edu/_ncinc5ce/choiceandalternatives.html
http://faculty.washington.edu/dianm/Sterilization.pdf

The Seattle Civil Rights and Labor History Project website:
http://depts.washington.edu/civilr/

Racial Microaggressions in Everday Life:
http://www.olc.edu/~jolson/socialwork/OnlineLibrary/microaggression%20article.pdf
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FX7Xp_6vHMc

Historical Trauma, Microaggressions, and Identity: A Framework for Culturally-Based Practice

Dr. Karina Walters speaks at the University of Minnesota on Race, Culture and Children’s Mental Health.
Watch the video of the presentation.
http://www.iwri.org/news/


Once again, part of a college/university education and our societal acceptance of the ideas of honoring and accepting diversity and being multiculturally aware is being exposed to different points of view. These are just some things I would like you to think about and consider, we may have made a lot of progress on issues of racism, yet the work is not done. Even if you believe that you are not racist, I continue to ask you to consider the "legacies of racism" and how the issues/historical events listed above could still be challenges for individuals, insitutions and communities.

Why did I ask you to read Sherman Alexie's "Flight"?

Hey All,

You've been asked to read Sherman Alexie's Flight and I'm wondering what your initial impressions are?

What did you think of his word choices? His topics? His characters?

What if anything was is Sherman Alexie saying about identity, motivations, history, revenge, being a teenager, being abused, moving homes and schools a lot, making choices?

Any other ideas?