Re-educating Educators is Feb. 23 Topic

02/16/2011 

A Chicago scholar who studies the influence of race in urban education, community development and housing will lecture on educational justice Wednesday, Feb. 23, at SUNY Cortland.

David Omotoso Stovall, an associate professor of educational policy studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago, will present “(Re)imagining and (Re)thinking Education: Strategies and Steps Towards Educational Justice” at 7:30 p.m. in Old Main Brown Auditorium.

The presentation continues the College’s yearlong series on the theme of “Re-Education,” organized by the College’s Cultural and Intellectual Climate Committee (CICC).

Co-sponsored by the CICC and Cortland’s Urban Recruitment of Educators (C.U.R.E.) program and the Campus Artists and Lecture Series (CALS), the lecture and other events of the series are free and open to the public.

“Dr. Stovall’s work investigates the relationship between race and the quality of schools and teaching in communities that are changing both racially and economically,” observed the lecture organizer Brian Barrett, a CICC member and SUNY Cortland assistant professor of foundations and social advocacy.

“From a practical and theoretical perspective, his research draws from Critical Race Theory, educational policy analysis, sociology, urban planning, political science, community organizing, and youth culture,” Barrett continued. “Most recently, he has co-authored — with William Ayers, Kevin Kumashiro, Erica Meiners and Therese Quinn — Teaching toward Democracy: Educators as Agents of Change and co-edited — with William Ayers and Therese Quinn — the Handbook of Social Justice in Education.

“Stovall’s work will be appreciated by all faculty and students involved in teacher education on campus as well as anyone with an interest in social justice,” Barrett said. “Faculty are encouraged to incorporate the talk into their courses.”

Additionally this spring, the committee is co-sponsoring several other events:

• The Feb. 28-April 15 Dowd Gallery exhibit, “Bogolanfini, Patterns of Bamana Culture, The Mudcloth Collection of Kassim Kone.”

• The April 9 Student Conference on Diversity, Equity and Social Justice, “Building a Multicultural Community One Word at a Time,” featuring keynote speaker Ramon Maisonet, an author, playwright and Beth Israel Medical Center crisis intervention counselor. Sponsored by the Multicultural Life Office, the student-organized conference runs from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. in Corey Union.

“All of these events are connected to this year’s intellectual theme of Re-Education,” noted CICC Committee chair Scott Moranda, SUNY Cortland assistant professor of history. “Whether it’s re-writing history or scientific theory or re-educating children who don’t conform to their parents’ belief systems, the concept of (re) education invites examination in many academic fields across campus.

“Re-education asks us to consider how our society constantly re-works and re-formulates our vision of ourselves and the world,” Moranda said.

“Historical narratives or scientific theories, to name two examples, are never set in stone, but instead are challenged by different social groups who hope to re-educate their fellow citizens,” Moranda observed. “These ‘re-education’ projects almost always hope to transform society or, sometimes, to prevent social or political change. Given this institution’s focus on education, it is important to consider how schools are often battlegrounds for different political and economic worldviews. At the same time, the theme allows us to consider how education can be reformed to better serve students from all backgrounds.”

For more information about Stovall’s lecture, contact Barrett at (607) 753-2330. For more information about the art exhibition, contact Jenn McNamara, art and art history, at 607) 753-4411. For more information about the conference, contact Noelle Paley, multicultural life, at (607) 753-2336. For more information about the “Re-Education” series, contact Moranda at (607) 753-2052.