In this week's episode Steven James Lawrence joins Elizabeth for a discussion of critical theory, teaching in K-12 and college, as well as what he calls an organic perspective on diversity, equity and inclusion. We talk about the healing value of stories and the potentially destructive nature of community prescribed victim narratives. Stephen describes his success in inviting colleagues on an inclusiveness-focused journey, an alternative to often resented and ineffectual top-down methods of DEI enforcement.
Podcast Notes
Steven James Lawrence has served as chair of the Faculty Development Committee at the Benjamin Franklin Cummings Institute of Technology, a Federally-designated Minority Serving Institution (MSI), where he promoted "invitational" approaches to DEI that were non-ideological.
Steven's Organic DEI substack post
Pasupathi, M., Fivush, R., & Hernandez-Martinez, M. (2016). Talking about it: Stories as paths to healing after violence. Psychology of Violence, 6(1), 49-56.
Michael David Cobb Bowen was raised in Southern California where his father founded the Institute for Black Studies in 1966. Robert T. Bowen was one of the original Watts Poets and advocated for a separate black nation. Michael's uncle also worked for the Peace Corps in West Africa, so Michael learned how to speak French and Swahili as a child. He participated in the first Kwanzaa and was taught that he would be a model for the new Black Man. In our July Liberal Values Lab, Bowen will tell us what it was like to grow up with that mindset and frame of reference and how he evolved his thinking about black identity and American citizenship.
Join us on Circle to be part of the conversation.
