Decolonizing the University: Fulfilling the Dream of the Third World College
Friday, February 26, 2010 at 9:00 AM - Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 10:00 PM (PT)
Berkeley, CA
Event Details
PLEASE PICK ONE REGISTRATION OPTION; EITHER SINGLE DAYS OR FULL CONFERENCE.
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INFORMATION REGARDING LODGING, HOTEL DISCOUNTS, TRANSPORTATION, PARKING, ETC. CAN BE FOUND ON OUR BLOG. CLICK HERE to visit http://decolonizingtheuniversity.blogspot.com/
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If you would like to volunteer for the conference on the day of, please contact Marcelo at es40volunteers@gmail.com. We greatly appreciate your time and support!
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Please email us or visit our Facebook page for conference information, or to request more information email: decolonizing.the.university@gmail.com or search "Decolonizing the University" at www.facebook.com.
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UPDATE!
We have confirmed both Cherrie Moraga and Wayne Yang as keynote speakers for the conference!
UPDATE!
We are no longer accepting submissions at this time. Thank you!
The following is some basic information on the event:
Greetings!
We cordially invite your participation in "Decolonizing the University:
Fulfilling the Dream of the Third World College," a conference taking
place February 26-27, 2010 at UC Berkeley, in commemoration of the
Ethnic Studies Department's 40th anniversary and in celebration of the
10th annual Cultural Night of Resistance.
Simultaneously inspired by activism from youth of color on campus, local grassroots organizations and the Black Panther Party, international movements for decolonization, and the Third World Liberation Front (TWLF) strike of 1968 at San Francisco State University (SFSU), which is the longest student strike in the nation, UC Berkeley's TWLF went on strike in January of 1969. One of their demands was that funds be allocated for the implementation of a Third World College. The idea of a Third World College called for epistemological, pedagogical, institutional, and social change, to be facilitated by the creation of departments of Asian Studies, Black Studies, Chicano Studies, Native American Studies, and any other Ethnic Studies programs as they developed. Since then, there is only one College of Ethnic Studies in the nation (at SFSU), and only some universities with ethnic studies departments or programs.
The purpose of this conference is to have collective dialogues about fulfilling the dream of the Third World College and decolonizing the university at large. These goals are more relevant today than ever given the demographic change in the state and the nation, and the racial, sexual, gendered, and colonial dimensions of transnational capitalism, neoconservatisms, and neoliberalism globally. It is also significant that as people of color have become the majority in the state of California, the state has dramatically changed its priorities in funding and it is about to allocate more resources to prisons than to public higher education. The prison, rather than the school and the university, seems to have become the standard institution for underrepresented populations in the nation and the state.
It is in this context that we revisit the idea of the Third World College and come together to formulate basic terms for an agenda of work that aims to decolonize the university now. In this sense, more than simply “going back to the sixties,” we call for renewed conceptualizations of the tasks of decolonization with contributions from the scholarship, art, activism, and spirituality of communities of color, peoples in the global south, and their many companions and allies. More specifically, this conference takes as a point of departure that the university can and should become a more welcoming space to people of color, their questions, concerns, views, and perspectives, as well as an important institution that forges the desegregation and decolonization of society and knowledge at large. But what do we understand by decolonization, and how do we imagine a Third World College today? What are the implications of decolonizing the university in the context of neoliberal policies, and how does the movement for decolonization relate with the global movement against the privatization of the university? What responses should we give to the budget cuts and fee hikes, and how can we all organize effectively to transform, and not only to save, the university? These are some of the key question that this conference will aim to address.
The first day of the conference, Feb. 26th, will emulate a version of a Third World College through a combination of teach-ins, dialogue, panels, performances, film screenings, and workshops on a variety of topics, such as education, research, community organizing, creating art, and spoken word. These will focus on key areas of ethnic studies such as activism, art, scholarly work, and spirituality.
The second day of the conference on Feb. 27th is aimed at having in-depth discussions about the ways in which a Third World College is necessary and possible at every college/university, what the near and long-term futures of Ethnic Studies could look like, and why decolonizing the university as a social justice movement is particularly urgent now. As Richard Aoki—the late Sansei Black Panther and activist in the TWLF of 1969—stated: "We didn't lose in the sixties; we just didn't finish the job."
If you are an educator, we encourage you to consider bringing your students to this conference; if you are a student, we encourage you to suggest to your educators to consider granting credit for attending this conference; if you are a community member, we encourage you to propose to your respective employer to consider this conference as educational/personal development.
In solidarity,
Organizing Committee:
Alumni
Marcelo Garzo, Ethnic Studies
Marcy Rosner, Ethnic Studies
Simultaneously inspired by activism from youth of color on campus, local grassroots organizations and the Black Panther Party, international movements for decolonization, and the Third World Liberation Front (TWLF) strike of 1968 at San Francisco State University (SFSU), which is the longest student strike in the nation, UC Berkeley's TWLF went on strike in January of 1969. One of their demands was that funds be allocated for the implementation of a Third World College. The idea of a Third World College called for epistemological, pedagogical, institutional, and social change, to be facilitated by the creation of departments of Asian Studies, Black Studies, Chicano Studies, Native American Studies, and any other Ethnic Studies programs as they developed. Since then, there is only one College of Ethnic Studies in the nation (at SFSU), and only some universities with ethnic studies departments or programs.
The purpose of this conference is to have collective dialogues about fulfilling the dream of the Third World College and decolonizing the university at large. These goals are more relevant today than ever given the demographic change in the state and the nation, and the racial, sexual, gendered, and colonial dimensions of transnational capitalism, neoconservatisms, and neoliberalism globally. It is also significant that as people of color have become the majority in the state of California, the state has dramatically changed its priorities in funding and it is about to allocate more resources to prisons than to public higher education. The prison, rather than the school and the university, seems to have become the standard institution for underrepresented populations in the nation and the state.
It is in this context that we revisit the idea of the Third World College and come together to formulate basic terms for an agenda of work that aims to decolonize the university now. In this sense, more than simply “going back to the sixties,” we call for renewed conceptualizations of the tasks of decolonization with contributions from the scholarship, art, activism, and spirituality of communities of color, peoples in the global south, and their many companions and allies. More specifically, this conference takes as a point of departure that the university can and should become a more welcoming space to people of color, their questions, concerns, views, and perspectives, as well as an important institution that forges the desegregation and decolonization of society and knowledge at large. But what do we understand by decolonization, and how do we imagine a Third World College today? What are the implications of decolonizing the university in the context of neoliberal policies, and how does the movement for decolonization relate with the global movement against the privatization of the university? What responses should we give to the budget cuts and fee hikes, and how can we all organize effectively to transform, and not only to save, the university? These are some of the key question that this conference will aim to address.
The first day of the conference, Feb. 26th, will emulate a version of a Third World College through a combination of teach-ins, dialogue, panels, performances, film screenings, and workshops on a variety of topics, such as education, research, community organizing, creating art, and spoken word. These will focus on key areas of ethnic studies such as activism, art, scholarly work, and spirituality.
The second day of the conference on Feb. 27th is aimed at having in-depth discussions about the ways in which a Third World College is necessary and possible at every college/university, what the near and long-term futures of Ethnic Studies could look like, and why decolonizing the university as a social justice movement is particularly urgent now. As Richard Aoki—the late Sansei Black Panther and activist in the TWLF of 1969—stated: "We didn't lose in the sixties; we just didn't finish the job."
If you are an educator, we encourage you to consider bringing your students to this conference; if you are a student, we encourage you to suggest to your educators to consider granting credit for attending this conference; if you are a community member, we encourage you to propose to your respective employer to consider this conference as educational/personal development.
In solidarity,
Organizing Committee:
Alumni
Marcelo Garzo, Ethnic Studies
Marcy Rosner, Ethnic Studies
Krista Beckley, Ethnic Studies
Faculty
Keith Feldman, Ethnic Studies
Nelson Maldonado-Torres, Ethnic Studies
Ula Taylor, African American Studies
Graduate Students
Xamuel Banales, Anthropology
Michael Castañeda, ES/Latino & Pilipino Studies
Mattie Harper, ES/Native American Studies
Tala Khanmalek, ES/Middle East. Diasporas
Leece Lee, ES/Native American Studies
Undergraduate Students
Raquel Jacquez, Ethnic Studies & Philosophy
Michaelanne Jones, ES/Native American Studies
Joseph Ham-Silvestre, Ethnic Studies
Obiamaka Ude, African American Studie
Faculty
Keith Feldman, Ethnic Studies
Nelson Maldonado-Torres, Ethnic Studies
Ula Taylor, African American Studies
Graduate Students
Xamuel Banales, Anthropology
Michael Castañeda, ES/Latino & Pilipino Studies
Mattie Harper, ES/Native American Studies
Tala Khanmalek, ES/Middle East. Diasporas
Leece Lee, ES/Native American Studies
Undergraduate Students
Raquel Jacquez, Ethnic Studies & Philosophy
Michaelanne Jones, ES/Native American Studies
Joseph Ham-Silvestre, Ethnic Studies
Obiamaka Ude, African American Studie
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Friday, February 26, 2010 at 9:00 AM
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Saturday, February 27, 2010 at 10:00 PM (PT)
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