Social Justice and Oral History: Research at Mason
Friday, May 6, 2022 12:00 PM to 1:00 PM EDT
Hybrid- in person in Horizon Hall 6325 or via Zoom
Join us for a conversation on how humanities research can support social justice and on research opportunities at Mason.
Hybrid Event:
No RSVP required; join in person in Horizon Hall 6325 or via Zoom. To receive a Zoom link, please sign up for CHR's newsletter HERE- the link will be sent out via that channel one day before the event.
Event Description:
Are you a humanities or social sciences student or faculty member? Do you want to do research with marginalized communities? Come join OSCAR Research Assistant Soph Zelizer and CHSS Professor Sharon Doetsch-Kidder, who will speak about their work on the DC Intersectional Activist Oral History project. Learn how the principles of antiracism, equity, and inclusion can be applied to research and how you can get involved with research at Mason.
Speakers:
Sharon Doetsch-Kidder, PhD (she/they)
Term Assistant Professor of English & Assistant Pathways Program Coordinator
Soph Zelizer
B.A. Sociology and Global Affairs, 2022 (they/them)
Karen Lee, Ph.D. (Assistant Director OSCAR; Affiliate Faculty, Biology and Environmental Science and Policy) will also be present to answer any OSCAR questions!
Project Description:
The DC Intersectional Activist Oral History project seeks to disseminate and update oral histories of activists who identify as queer (LGBTQ) and feminist and who have engaged in antiracist, antipoverty, human rights, trans rights, or disability rights work in the DC area during the last 3-4 decades. The original group of narrators, interviewed in 2004-2005, includes 5 Asian/Pacific Islanders, 6 Black people, 5 Latinas, 1 Native American, 1 Multiracial person, and 6 white people. Of this group, 4 are transgender, and 20 are cisgender. Since the original interviews, narrators have gone on to direct or serve in campus, local, national, and international organizations; work as consultants; write books and blog posts; teach law and women’s and gender studies; and become a mayor, a social worker, a director of LGBTQ affairs in a mayor’s office, a public relations professional, a legislative assistant in the U.S. Senate, a stay-at-home mom, and a harpist and African art dealer. Five of them have been recognized as Community Pioneers by Washington DC’s Rainbow History Project, and one was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame. The diversity of the narrators highlights the radical diversity of issues addressed through the lens of intersectionality, and the stories add insight into the diverse experiences, motivations, perspectives, and strategies of intersectional activists.
Questions? Please email chr@gmu.edu
