Apply for NEH DVP Summer Workshop on "DeColonizing the Curriculum"
2022 NEH Distinguished Visiting Professor Workshop
Dr. Reanae McNeal on Decolonizing and (Re)imagining the Curriculum
The 2022 NEH Distinguished Visiting Professor, Dr. Reanae McNeal, will be leading a two-day, virtual workshop May 24 and 26 from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. (EST). The workshop will be limited to 12-18 participants so please apply by May 2, as explained below.
Dr. Reanae McNeal is a Teaching Assistant professor at Oklahoma State University in Gender, Women’s, and Sexuality Studies, Africana Studies, American Indian Studies, and American Studies with a department home in English. She has a Ph.D. from Texas Woman’s University in Multicultural Women’s and Gender Studies and is an award-winning educator, artist, and storyteller.McNeal promotes social change and reconciliation, advances cross-cultural understanding, cultivates reparative and restorative justice, and fosters the healing of deep wounds through love and transformation. Her research involves decolonial approaches that accentuate the lived experiences of Black, Indigenous, and Women of Color. Additionally, her research-based creative work and scholarly endeavors address such topics as marginalized (her)stories, diversity, resiliency, faith, spirituality, healing, and trauma (individual, historical, generational, and societal). She is the recipient of such awards as NCTE Early Career Educator of Color, CCWH Catherine Prelinger, and CCCC Dream Scholar.
This workshop will expand the 2020-22 DTH focus on research assignments to include diversity issues by decolonizing the curriculum, and as McNeal explains:
Decolonizing and (Re)imagining the Curriculum
This workshop invites participants to learn and practice decolonizing and (re)imagining the curriculum in relationship with diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging. Participants will interact with and experience subjugated wisdom systems, perspectives, concepts, and worldviews. Examining the legacies of colonialism and knowledge hierarchies, participants will have a chance to reflect and plan on ways they will decolonize and (re)imagine their curriculum for the enhancement of student learning. Embracing anti-racist paradigms, culturally relevant pedagogies, and Indigenous land-based pedagogy, this workshop offers a valuable opportunity to delve into ethnically and racially marginalized knowledges in intersectional and interrelated ways. Participants will be in a supportive community and receive feedback as they are invited to expand their imagination in curriculum development, student research enhancement, and pedagogy advancement. They will leave empowered with tools and resources to implement in decolonizing and (re)imagining their curriculum. At the same time, participants will be encouraged to think deeply about the significance of what they learned in relation to their pedagogy, discipline, and institutional context.
The selected participants will notified by Fri, May 13, and they will receive a pre-workshop reading, along with a Zoom link. After the first day of this virtual workshop (Tuesday, May 24), the participants will be asked to prepare ideas for their own possible curricula changes, such as how to revise a senior research assignment to include more diverse perspectives, and these initial ideas will be shared day two (Thursday, May 26).
There is a $300 stipend for participants attending the workshop in May. Any faculty member of the University of Hartford is eligible to apply, and the brief application should include:
- Name, UH email, faculty position, and years of service
- Teaching area(s) and expertise
- Reasons of workshop interest
Applications should be emailed by Monday, May 2 at 4 p.m. to Don Jones, the 2020-22 Distinguished Teaching Humanist (djones@hartford.edu). Accepted applicants will be notified by Friday, May 13. Please contact Don Jones with any questions.