Graduate Anti-Racism Symposium

4th Annual Graduate Anti-Racism Symposium

March 7, 2024

Race and Speech

The American election cycle and violence in the Middle East have sparked urgent debate around race and speech in academic communities.

  • Who gets to speak, and where?
  • How do individual and collective identities shape the boundaries of what is said, and in what contexts?
  • How do existing hierarchies and structures influence these conversations? And how does speech about race intersect with conditions of vulnerability within academic hierarchies and structures?
  • What specific histories shape the overlap of race and speech in California, the United States and worldwide? 

The 4th Annual Graduate Anti-Racism Symposium (GARS) will bring together UCD graduate students, postdocs, faculty and staff in conversation around "Race and Speech." In the morning, a virtual roundtable presentation, moderated by faculty and students, will speak to a shared set of questions. In the afternoon, participants will gather in a moderated discussion of how we can use speech about race and racism to support communities and prompt change.

This event is co-sponsored with the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, and is part of the Graduate Studies Anti-Racism Initiative. The GARS committee includes: 

  • Elias Bunting, Ph.D. student in the Department of Plant Pathology
  • Evelyn Gamez, Ph.D. candidate and Associate Instructor in the Department of Spanish and Portuguese
  • Ellen Hartigan-O’Connor, Graduate Studies Associate Dean for Graduate Students and Postdoctoral Scholars
  • Desirée Martín, Associate Professor in the Department of English
  • José Juan Pérez Meléndez, Assistant Professor in the Department of History
  • Josephine Moreno, Graduate Diversity Officer for Humanities, Arts, Social Sciences and Education

Presentation Slides

Resources

UC Davis Dialogues Across Difference presents “Academic Freedom & Free Speech in the Classroom”

  • 9:00 - 10:30 a.m.: Open to all
  • A virtual roundtable presentation, moderated by Dr. Desirée Martín (English) and Ph.D. candidate Evelyn Gámez (Spanish and Portuguese) that will speak to a shared set of questions. Participants in this year's roundtable are: Ruben Zecena, English facultyDanny C. Martinez, education faculty; Mjriam Abu Samra, postdoc, Middle East/South Asia studies; Dominique Williams, ethnic studies coordinator at the California History-Social Science ProjectBeshara Kehdi, Ph.D. candidate in cultural studiesAnnaliese Franz, chemistry faculty

    To register for this event, click here.
  • 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.: Open only to grad students and postdocs
  • An in-person moderated discussion hosted in-person in 1220 Walker Hall (Gibeling Room). Participants will gather for a conversation about how we can use speech about race and racism to support communities and prompt change. To RSVP, click here.