Jan. 25, 2008 – Renowned social justice and diversity scholars, Peggy McIntosh and the University of Utah’s own Dolores Delgado Bernal, will present the keynote address at the Associated Students of the University of Utah’s (ASUU) 4th Annual Conference on Social Awareness on January 26th in the A. Ray Olpin Union.
The purpose of the Conference on Social Awareness is to provide a forum where students, academics, professionals, and community members can explore the role of collaborating diverse communities to promote social justice. The goal is to create inclusive programs, environments, and curriculum throughout our campus community. This year’s theme, “Where I Stand: Piecing Together a Picture of Identity,” is focused on identity and how the roles and aspects of one’s identity are essential to equity, change, and social justice.
Peggy McIntosh, Ph.D., associate director of the Wellesley Centers for Women, is also the founder, and co-director the SEED Project, a program that enhances diversity curriculums to become more equitable nationwide. Dr. McIntosh’s written work “White Privilege and Male Privilege: A Personal Account of Coming to See Correspondences through Work in Women’s Studies” has been essential in putting the dimension of privilege into discussions of gender, race and sexuality. The essay coined the concept of “white privilege”, a theoretical framework that has since significantly influences anti-racist theory and practice as well as other activist movements.
Dolores Delgado Bernal, Ph.D. is a professor at the University of Utah in Education Culture and Society and Ethnic Studies. Dr. Bernal has extensively influenced the community and the world of academia with her knowledge in critical race theory and social justice.
“I am absolutely thrilled that Dr. Peggy McIntosh has agreed to visit our campus as one of the keynote speakers for COSA this year. Her provocative work on white and male privilege has been instrumental to social justice literature and has contributed immensely to studies of whiteness and patriarchy. I am also pleased that Dr. Dolores Delgado Bernal has accepted the Diversity Boards invitation to present as a keynote speaker. There is no doubt that these two speakers will have a profound impact on students and the larger community,” says Dhiraj Chand, the ASUU director of diversity.
“I have had the privilege of working with Dr. Bernal and am truly honored that she is going to be a keynote for the conference. Her commitment to social Justice and diversity is inspiring,” says Nichole Garcia, associate director for ASUU diversity board.
“We want to continue to move diversity programming past the usual food, fun, and festival formula to a model that is more influential. The Conference on Social Awareness does this,” says Ofa Pilivi, associate director for the ASUU diversity board.
The 4th Annual Conference on Social Awareness will be held on Jan. 26. The event runs from 8am-6pm with check in and breakfast starting at 8am and workshops starting at 9am and running through the day. Both keynote addresses will be featured back-to-back starting at 4pm in the Union Ballroom. Registration is free and open to the public. For a full list of COSA 2008 workshops please visit www.ustudents.com/cosa or contact the ASUU offices at 581-2788.