CESJ Letter in the Time of COVID-19
March 27, 2020
Dear CESJ Members,
We are writing to you in the midst of a global pandemic that has exposed realities and exacerbated inequities in our world. Frontline workers are indeed the ones who stock grocery shelves, deliver food and other essentials, and are tasked with cleaning and sanitizing spaces for our collective health. Yet, they are the employees who continue to be underpaid, often without sick leave and other benefits–reminding us that healthcare tied to employment depends on the ethics of the employers and is therefore ultimately inhumane. Xenophobic assaults on Asian Americans continue to rise and are fueled by the racist rhetoric of the U.S. president and administration–reminding all of us that any imagined proximity to whiteness can be withdrawn at any time. Disabled students and faculty are observing a quick implementation of accommodations they have been advocating for and often been denied for years, such as remote work and flexible work schedules. Simultaneously, they are fighting against a rhetoric of disposability wherein some people are taking unnecessary risks of potential exposure to the virus, claiming that only some are in danger and that disabled people should be the first to lose access to life saving medical care. This rhetoric reminds us that the interest convergence that provides more people accommodations does not erase the ideology of ableism and its intersections with white supremacy and racism. People in prisons and jails remain extremely vulnerable to illness because of the inhumane nature of confinement and despite heroic efforts by some to decarcerate, especially the elderly prison population, many are illustrating their lack of compassion. This reminds us that mass incarceration strips civil rights and sediments the label of “criminal,” which dehumanizes people trapped in the prison industrial complex. As schools close, working parents and those without children are being asked to homeschool, provide care to loved ones, and teach online with little training and support–reminding us that neoliberal logics of productivity push education into a hyper-focus on grades and objectives, instead of humanizing approaches to learning. This pandemic has illuminated structural inequities for the multiply-marginalized, those at the intersections of various oppressions. We reject the xenophobic, racist, ageist, ableist, and eugenicist messages coming from those who think we can simply return to business as normal, normal is and always has been dangerous for so many.
Yet, we have also experienced new heights of joy with #ClubQuarantine, free dance classes, and for some, more time with loved ones or to focus on themselves. People are offering new reasons for hope, sharing their skills, often for free, to support our mental and physical health, and children’s intellectual and emotional growth. Community care has been built in myriad of ways, from people building neighborhood pods to organizing mutual aid. We are being reminded in real time that it is not government or the sporadic kindness from the wealthy; it is always community that will save us. Community care provides us another chance to refuse to go back to the inequities of the past, to tear down the structures that support inequities, and to (re)imagine and (re)build education and society. June Jordan’s words resonate “we are the ones we have been waiting for” to cultivate joy and justice.
In the midst of all of this, AERA has decided to cancel the virtual program. We want to both acknowledge the huge undertaking that the virtual program has been and thank the leadership for their efforts, as we recognize the necessity of implementing new ways of being that refuse to replicate power differentials that have existed both historically and in the present moment. Analysis of intersecting oppressions provides us a clearer understanding of the problems and solutions facing so many. For example, though paid sick leave is important for all, over half of Latinas and one-third of Black women do not have the option to take paid time off when they are sick. We continually encourage AERA and ALL organizations to listen to those most affected, multiply-marginalized people of color. To illustrate, the Disability Justice Culture Club, made up of disabled queer people of color, are already doing the work. They know what has been inaccessible and inhumane for much longer than many of us, listening to and paying for the expertise of multiply-marginalized people of color provides opportunities to grow a better version of education and ourselves.
We support AERA leadership’s decision to cancel the program given the incredible complexity of the present moment. We return to our theme of Abolish & (Re)Build, not because it is catchy, but because it is the work. As a SIG, we want to both engage the potential for future virtual connections, for people who crave or need as much stability and regularity as they can attain, and to release expectations for people who are overwhelmed with surviving in this shifting reality. For all of us, we recognize that the current situation presents both dangerous challenges and an opportunity to (re)imagine and (re)build experiences filled with connection, as that is the essence of what we all do: work to create more loving and just education interactions, processes, and systems. Our board is thinking about where we go from here. As we consider next steps, we will purposefully center connections. Until then, when we feel overwhelmed with the inequities this situation has exposed, we focus on what we can do and how we can (re)build. Mariame Kaba, a Black Feminist prison abolitionist, reminds us,
“Questions I regularly ask myself when I'm outraged about injustice:
1. What resources exist so I can better educate myself?
2. Who's already doing work around this injustice?
3. Do I have the capacity to offer concrete support & help to them?
4. How can I be constructive?”
We believe these questions can allow us to both examine the injustices that are happening all around us, and decide how to move forward in solidarity with others. We have witnessed wins in the face of injustices when people organize together, even during this crisis. We encourage people to pause and think before we rush forward into the present. What is driving us? What do we want to tear down? What do we want to (re)build? In a moment where the present is so dangerous and the future so unknown, we dream of something different. We can move liberation, joy, and justice into the forefront of our discussions around the future of education and our society. Let’s continue to imagine, build, and engage collectives, coalitions, and movements together.
In Solidarity,
The CESJ Board
Subini Ancy Annamma & Nini Hayes, Co-Chairs
Tanja Burkhard & derria byrd, Fiscal Co-Chairs
Denisha Jones & Ruth M. López, Communications Co-Chairs
Oscar Navarro & Elizabeth Mendoza, Program Co-Chairs
Malayka Neith Cornejo & Eric Washington, Graduate Student Co-Chairs
Dear CESJ Members,
We are writing to you in the midst of a global pandemic that has exposed realities and exacerbated inequities in our world. Frontline workers are indeed the ones who stock grocery shelves, deliver food and other essentials, and are tasked with cleaning and sanitizing spaces for our collective health. Yet, they are the employees who continue to be underpaid, often without sick leave and other benefits–reminding us that healthcare tied to employment depends on the ethics of the employers and is therefore ultimately inhumane. Xenophobic assaults on Asian Americans continue to rise and are fueled by the racist rhetoric of the U.S. president and administration–reminding all of us that any imagined proximity to whiteness can be withdrawn at any time. Disabled students and faculty are observing a quick implementation of accommodations they have been advocating for and often been denied for years, such as remote work and flexible work schedules. Simultaneously, they are fighting against a rhetoric of disposability wherein some people are taking unnecessary risks of potential exposure to the virus, claiming that only some are in danger and that disabled people should be the first to lose access to life saving medical care. This rhetoric reminds us that the interest convergence that provides more people accommodations does not erase the ideology of ableism and its intersections with white supremacy and racism. People in prisons and jails remain extremely vulnerable to illness because of the inhumane nature of confinement and despite heroic efforts by some to decarcerate, especially the elderly prison population, many are illustrating their lack of compassion. This reminds us that mass incarceration strips civil rights and sediments the label of “criminal,” which dehumanizes people trapped in the prison industrial complex. As schools close, working parents and those without children are being asked to homeschool, provide care to loved ones, and teach online with little training and support–reminding us that neoliberal logics of productivity push education into a hyper-focus on grades and objectives, instead of humanizing approaches to learning. This pandemic has illuminated structural inequities for the multiply-marginalized, those at the intersections of various oppressions. We reject the xenophobic, racist, ageist, ableist, and eugenicist messages coming from those who think we can simply return to business as normal, normal is and always has been dangerous for so many.
Yet, we have also experienced new heights of joy with #ClubQuarantine, free dance classes, and for some, more time with loved ones or to focus on themselves. People are offering new reasons for hope, sharing their skills, often for free, to support our mental and physical health, and children’s intellectual and emotional growth. Community care has been built in myriad of ways, from people building neighborhood pods to organizing mutual aid. We are being reminded in real time that it is not government or the sporadic kindness from the wealthy; it is always community that will save us. Community care provides us another chance to refuse to go back to the inequities of the past, to tear down the structures that support inequities, and to (re)imagine and (re)build education and society. June Jordan’s words resonate “we are the ones we have been waiting for” to cultivate joy and justice.
In the midst of all of this, AERA has decided to cancel the virtual program. We want to both acknowledge the huge undertaking that the virtual program has been and thank the leadership for their efforts, as we recognize the necessity of implementing new ways of being that refuse to replicate power differentials that have existed both historically and in the present moment. Analysis of intersecting oppressions provides us a clearer understanding of the problems and solutions facing so many. For example, though paid sick leave is important for all, over half of Latinas and one-third of Black women do not have the option to take paid time off when they are sick. We continually encourage AERA and ALL organizations to listen to those most affected, multiply-marginalized people of color. To illustrate, the Disability Justice Culture Club, made up of disabled queer people of color, are already doing the work. They know what has been inaccessible and inhumane for much longer than many of us, listening to and paying for the expertise of multiply-marginalized people of color provides opportunities to grow a better version of education and ourselves.
We support AERA leadership’s decision to cancel the program given the incredible complexity of the present moment. We return to our theme of Abolish & (Re)Build, not because it is catchy, but because it is the work. As a SIG, we want to both engage the potential for future virtual connections, for people who crave or need as much stability and regularity as they can attain, and to release expectations for people who are overwhelmed with surviving in this shifting reality. For all of us, we recognize that the current situation presents both dangerous challenges and an opportunity to (re)imagine and (re)build experiences filled with connection, as that is the essence of what we all do: work to create more loving and just education interactions, processes, and systems. Our board is thinking about where we go from here. As we consider next steps, we will purposefully center connections. Until then, when we feel overwhelmed with the inequities this situation has exposed, we focus on what we can do and how we can (re)build. Mariame Kaba, a Black Feminist prison abolitionist, reminds us,
“Questions I regularly ask myself when I'm outraged about injustice:
1. What resources exist so I can better educate myself?
2. Who's already doing work around this injustice?
3. Do I have the capacity to offer concrete support & help to them?
4. How can I be constructive?”
We believe these questions can allow us to both examine the injustices that are happening all around us, and decide how to move forward in solidarity with others. We have witnessed wins in the face of injustices when people organize together, even during this crisis. We encourage people to pause and think before we rush forward into the present. What is driving us? What do we want to tear down? What do we want to (re)build? In a moment where the present is so dangerous and the future so unknown, we dream of something different. We can move liberation, joy, and justice into the forefront of our discussions around the future of education and our society. Let’s continue to imagine, build, and engage collectives, coalitions, and movements together.
In Solidarity,
The CESJ Board
Subini Ancy Annamma & Nini Hayes, Co-Chairs
Tanja Burkhard & derria byrd, Fiscal Co-Chairs
Denisha Jones & Ruth M. López, Communications Co-Chairs
Oscar Navarro & Elizabeth Mendoza, Program Co-Chairs
Malayka Neith Cornejo & Eric Washington, Graduate Student Co-Chairs
The Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ), a Special Interest Group (SIG) of The American Educational Research Association (AERA) invites applications for the 12th Annual Graduate Student Forum (GSF)
The Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ), a Special Interest Group (SIG) invites you to apply to the 12th Annual Graduate Student Forum (GSF) during the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference in San Francisco, California. This forum is a designated session free of charge for approximately 25-30 doctoral students. The session includes a light breakfast, full lunch, a panel of distinguished professors, as well as opportunities to interact with both panelists and participants.
Forum Details: Friday, April 17, 2020 | 8am - 3 pm | United Playaz Center | San Francisco, CA
The purpose of the Graduate Student Forum is to create space for doctoral students committed to and engaged in social justice and critical education research to:
Within our current political climate, learning how to be a critical scholar in turbulent times is more imperative than ever before. The continued efforts to dehumanize minoritized and marginalized communities necessitate charting radical paths to dismantle artificial borders between scholarship and activism by sustaining relationships with people, places, and critical counter-spaces. While the collective struggles for educational equity, justice, and liberation are not new, our efforts towards social justice are reinvigorated in a historical moment marked by, a) the resurgence in overt manifestations of Islamophobia, racism, misogyny, ableism, nativism, and xenophobia, and the resultant increase of hate crimes on university and K-12 campuses, b) the ramped-up assault on public education through unbridled free market reforms, and c) the persistence of intersecting racialized, gendered, and classed schooling contexts that are simultaneously sanctioned and invisibilized by the state. In light of the continuing and current challenges facing the struggles for material change and educational equity, this year’s CESJ Graduate Student Forum collectively asks: What are our roles as doctoral students engaged in social justice scholarship in the struggle for collective resistance? What strategies might social justice doctoral students engage in to pursue our continued work alongside our communities in the current context?
The members of the Critical Educators for Social Justice SIG are committed to teach, promote, and implement the principles of critical pedagogy in order to establish an educational movement grounded in the struggle for social and economic justice, human rights, and economic democracy. The members of CESJ are committed to cultural, linguistic, political, and economic self-determination within our classrooms, schools, and communities.
Application Process:
To be considered please complete the form: https://forms.gle/q1dVs92JAvCzdSs26 by Friday, March 13th, 2020 11:59pm PST. Space is limited and interested participants should complete the application as soon as possible.
Applicants are asked to provide the following information:
The CESJ Graduate Student Forum aims to gather a diverse group of graduate students whose work and backgrounds align with CESJ’s mission and values. We hope to have representation from different universities, stages in the graduate process, research interests, ethnic/racial groups (especially minoritized Students of Color), gender identities, sexualities, and other identities. Please direct any questions about the Graduate Student Forum (GSF) to CESJgradforum@gmail.com.
In solidarity,
2020 CESJ GSF Planning Team
Eric Washington, Texas Tech University
J.C. Lugo, University of California, Los Angeles
Jacquie Forbes, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Jawanza Kalonji Rand, University of Pittsburgh
Malayka Neith Cornejo, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Sendi Estrada, University of Pittsburgh
Forum Details: Friday, April 17, 2020 | 8am - 3 pm | United Playaz Center | San Francisco, CA
The purpose of the Graduate Student Forum is to create space for doctoral students committed to and engaged in social justice and critical education research to:
- Help prepare critical scholars for future scholarship and related work.
- Identify strategies and tools to share and take back to our colleagues, students, communities, and home institutions.
- Learn from scholars and peers about the possibilities and tensions that arise in social justice and critical education research.
Within our current political climate, learning how to be a critical scholar in turbulent times is more imperative than ever before. The continued efforts to dehumanize minoritized and marginalized communities necessitate charting radical paths to dismantle artificial borders between scholarship and activism by sustaining relationships with people, places, and critical counter-spaces. While the collective struggles for educational equity, justice, and liberation are not new, our efforts towards social justice are reinvigorated in a historical moment marked by, a) the resurgence in overt manifestations of Islamophobia, racism, misogyny, ableism, nativism, and xenophobia, and the resultant increase of hate crimes on university and K-12 campuses, b) the ramped-up assault on public education through unbridled free market reforms, and c) the persistence of intersecting racialized, gendered, and classed schooling contexts that are simultaneously sanctioned and invisibilized by the state. In light of the continuing and current challenges facing the struggles for material change and educational equity, this year’s CESJ Graduate Student Forum collectively asks: What are our roles as doctoral students engaged in social justice scholarship in the struggle for collective resistance? What strategies might social justice doctoral students engage in to pursue our continued work alongside our communities in the current context?
The members of the Critical Educators for Social Justice SIG are committed to teach, promote, and implement the principles of critical pedagogy in order to establish an educational movement grounded in the struggle for social and economic justice, human rights, and economic democracy. The members of CESJ are committed to cultural, linguistic, political, and economic self-determination within our classrooms, schools, and communities.
Application Process:
To be considered please complete the form: https://forms.gle/q1dVs92JAvCzdSs26 by Friday, March 13th, 2020 11:59pm PST. Space is limited and interested participants should complete the application as soon as possible.
Applicants are asked to provide the following information:
- General background
- Current academic status and institutional background
- Research interests
- What you hope to gain from your participation in the forum
The CESJ Graduate Student Forum aims to gather a diverse group of graduate students whose work and backgrounds align with CESJ’s mission and values. We hope to have representation from different universities, stages in the graduate process, research interests, ethnic/racial groups (especially minoritized Students of Color), gender identities, sexualities, and other identities. Please direct any questions about the Graduate Student Forum (GSF) to CESJgradforum@gmail.com.
In solidarity,
2020 CESJ GSF Planning Team
Eric Washington, Texas Tech University
J.C. Lugo, University of California, Los Angeles
Jacquie Forbes, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Jawanza Kalonji Rand, University of Pittsburgh
Malayka Neith Cornejo, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Sendi Estrada, University of Pittsburgh
The Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ), a Special Interest Group (SIG) of The American Educational Research Association (AERA) invites applications for the Pre-Conference CESJ Early Career Scholars Forum.
Theme: Abolish & (Re)Build: Growing Possible Futures in Solidarity
Date: Thursday, April 16, 2020, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Location: TBA; San Francisco, CA.
*Space is limited and the deadline to apply is March 13th, 2020 at 11:59 pm PST.
*Please note that in order to foster community, we ask you to commit to attending the full forum if you would like to participate. Continental breakfast and lunch will be provided.
This is the SIG’s fifth year offering this event after being modeled on our highly successful Graduate Student Forum. The CESJ Early Career Scholar Forum is a powerful gathering of scholars committed to producing and supporting critical scholarship and practice within education. Our goal is to create a space that is both communal and intimate by providing many opportunities for interaction between participants and between participants and panelists. The forum will include time with panelists, informal large group activities and interactive small group discussions.
The forum is designed to support early-career tenure track faculty, non-tenure track faculty, and postdoctoral scholars. During the forum, participants will gather with scholar-mentors from CESJ to discuss various topics related to research and scholarship, teaching, community-engaged scholarship, and service. Our goals are to provide early-career scholars with 1) a sense of community with scholars committed to critical scholarship and social justice; 2) mentorship from a range of scholars (junior and senior-level colleagues and community scholars); 3) practical tools and strategies for navigating academic and public contexts; and 4) a chance to network and build community with other CESJ early career scholars.
To achieve our goals and engage in this year’s theme: Abolish & (Re)Build: Growing Possible Futures in Solidarity, we will consider these possible topics:
Navigating university and public contexts as a social justice scholar
Abolishing white supremacy, neoliberalism, ableism, cis-heteropatriarchy and other systemic inequities
Defining & theorizing a beloved community(ies)
Building and rebuilding a beloved community(ies)
Publishing and advocating for justice-oriented scholarship
Centering wellness amidst the demands of activism, teaching, and scholarship
Finding mentors, community, and solidarity
Understanding the importance, risks, and strategies of public scholarship
Creating a successful tenure dossier as a social justice/critically engaged scholar
Defining one’s self as a social justice and/or critically engaged scholar
To apply for the forum, please complete the form: https://forms.gle/xnWmdzagehhVjqqv6. Accepted participants will be notified by Tuesday, March 17th, 2020. Please contact forum co-chairs Oscar Navarro (osnavarr@calpoly.edu) or Nini Hayes (nini.hayes@wwu.edu) for additional information and/or if you require assistance with the application process.
Date: Thursday, April 16, 2020, 9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Location: TBA; San Francisco, CA.
*Space is limited and the deadline to apply is March 13th, 2020 at 11:59 pm PST.
*Please note that in order to foster community, we ask you to commit to attending the full forum if you would like to participate. Continental breakfast and lunch will be provided.
This is the SIG’s fifth year offering this event after being modeled on our highly successful Graduate Student Forum. The CESJ Early Career Scholar Forum is a powerful gathering of scholars committed to producing and supporting critical scholarship and practice within education. Our goal is to create a space that is both communal and intimate by providing many opportunities for interaction between participants and between participants and panelists. The forum will include time with panelists, informal large group activities and interactive small group discussions.
The forum is designed to support early-career tenure track faculty, non-tenure track faculty, and postdoctoral scholars. During the forum, participants will gather with scholar-mentors from CESJ to discuss various topics related to research and scholarship, teaching, community-engaged scholarship, and service. Our goals are to provide early-career scholars with 1) a sense of community with scholars committed to critical scholarship and social justice; 2) mentorship from a range of scholars (junior and senior-level colleagues and community scholars); 3) practical tools and strategies for navigating academic and public contexts; and 4) a chance to network and build community with other CESJ early career scholars.
To achieve our goals and engage in this year’s theme: Abolish & (Re)Build: Growing Possible Futures in Solidarity, we will consider these possible topics:
Navigating university and public contexts as a social justice scholar
Abolishing white supremacy, neoliberalism, ableism, cis-heteropatriarchy and other systemic inequities
Defining & theorizing a beloved community(ies)
Building and rebuilding a beloved community(ies)
Publishing and advocating for justice-oriented scholarship
Centering wellness amidst the demands of activism, teaching, and scholarship
Finding mentors, community, and solidarity
Understanding the importance, risks, and strategies of public scholarship
Creating a successful tenure dossier as a social justice/critically engaged scholar
Defining one’s self as a social justice and/or critically engaged scholar
To apply for the forum, please complete the form: https://forms.gle/xnWmdzagehhVjqqv6. Accepted participants will be notified by Tuesday, March 17th, 2020. Please contact forum co-chairs Oscar Navarro (osnavarr@calpoly.edu) or Nini Hayes (nini.hayes@wwu.edu) for additional information and/or if you require assistance with the application process.
CESJ Needs You to Join a 2020 AERA CESJ Committee
Each year we rely on members like yourself to assist with the AERA Pre-Conference Forums. Please read the descriptions below, and contact the board member listed if you are interested in joining the committee.
The Graduate Student Forum is a day-long forum to connect critical graduate student scholars to each other and to more senior scholars in the field. The forum typically includes small group discussions, a panel with scholar activists, and other networking activities. The purpose of the Graduate Student Forum is to create space for doctoral students committed to and engaged in social justice and critical education research to 1) Help prepare critical scholars for future scholarship and related work. 2.) Identify strategies and tools to share and take back to our colleagues, students, communities, and home institutions. 3) Learn from scholars and peers about the possibilities and tensions that arise in social justice and critical education research. Please contact Malayka Neith Cornejo barbara.cornejo@unlv.edu for more information about upcoming application opportunities.
Early Career Scholar Forum is open to early-career tenure track faculty, non-tenure track faculty, and postdoctoral scholars. During the forum, participants gather with scholar-mentors from CESJ to discuss various topics related to research and scholarship, teaching, community-engaged scholarship, and service. The purpose of the forum is to provide early-career scholars with 1) a sense of community with scholars committed to critical scholarship and social justice; 2) mentorship from a range of scholars (junior and senior level colleagues); 3) practical tools and strategies for navigating academic contexts; 4) a chance to network and build community with other CESJ early career scholars. Please contact Nini Hayes nini.hayes@wwu.edu and Oscar Navarro osnavarro@calpoly.edu
The Graduate Student Forum is a day-long forum to connect critical graduate student scholars to each other and to more senior scholars in the field. The forum typically includes small group discussions, a panel with scholar activists, and other networking activities. The purpose of the Graduate Student Forum is to create space for doctoral students committed to and engaged in social justice and critical education research to 1) Help prepare critical scholars for future scholarship and related work. 2.) Identify strategies and tools to share and take back to our colleagues, students, communities, and home institutions. 3) Learn from scholars and peers about the possibilities and tensions that arise in social justice and critical education research. Please contact Malayka Neith Cornejo barbara.cornejo@unlv.edu for more information about upcoming application opportunities.
Early Career Scholar Forum is open to early-career tenure track faculty, non-tenure track faculty, and postdoctoral scholars. During the forum, participants gather with scholar-mentors from CESJ to discuss various topics related to research and scholarship, teaching, community-engaged scholarship, and service. The purpose of the forum is to provide early-career scholars with 1) a sense of community with scholars committed to critical scholarship and social justice; 2) mentorship from a range of scholars (junior and senior level colleagues); 3) practical tools and strategies for navigating academic contexts; 4) a chance to network and build community with other CESJ early career scholars. Please contact Nini Hayes nini.hayes@wwu.edu and Oscar Navarro osnavarro@calpoly.edu
CESJ Fall 2019 Newsletter
| cesj_fall_2019_newsletter_final.pdf |
Please note the deadline for submitting for the CESJ Dissertation Award has passed.
CESJ 2020 ELECTION POSITION DESCRIPTIONS
Dear CESJ members,
We hope you all are well! We are seeking nominations for positions on our CESJ SIG Board. Please see descriptions below for the following available positions:
be current, voting AERA members and current members of the SIG. Graduate Students can only serve in positions designated for graduate students (i.e. Graduate Student
Representative.)
Please note: All board member positions run for two years from May 2020-May 2022. Summer work is a part of this commitment. Please join us if you can commit to this labor on behalf of the SIG.
Thank you!
CESJ Board
Available Positions & Descriptions:
Co-chair: Collaborates with other co-chair to schedule/plan for/facilitate board meetings, plans the business meeting and social, oversees all sub-committees, and manages communication with the SIG.
Fiscal Co-chair: Collaborates with the other fiscal co-chair to handle all financial paperwork, helps planning committees create budgets for their events, facilitates reimbursements and payments, and monitors the overall budget.
Communications Co-chair: Collaborates with the other communications co-chair to create and disseminate monthly announcements and quarterly newsletters, maintains the website and other social media platforms, recruits people to write for the blog, and communicates with members via the listserve.
Program Co-chair: Collaborates with the other program co-chair to coordinate all AERA annual meeting submissions and reviews, ensures three reviews of all submissions (which means you may have to do a lot of reviews this summer!), and communicates with AERA and membership about the process.
Graduate Student Representative Co-Chair: Collaborates with other graduate student representative co-chair to coordinate graduate student events at AERA annual meeting including graduate student forum, fireside chat, organizes any other graduate student programing throughout the year, and represents CESJ graduate student members’ concerns and interests at board meetings and throughout the year.
2020 Nominations and Election Timeline
We hope you all are well! We are seeking nominations for positions on our CESJ SIG Board. Please see descriptions below for the following available positions:
- Co-Chair, 2 years
- Co-Fiscal Representative, 2 years
- Co-Program Chair Representative, 2 years
- Co-Communications Representative, 2 years
- Graduate Student Representative, 2 years.
- The full name, institutional affiliation, and e-mail address of the candidate;
- A biographical statement for the candidate, which can be up to 250 words, that includes the desired position, a brief description on the qualifications of the nominee and how nominee will contribute to the SIG.
be current, voting AERA members and current members of the SIG. Graduate Students can only serve in positions designated for graduate students (i.e. Graduate Student
Representative.)
Please note: All board member positions run for two years from May 2020-May 2022. Summer work is a part of this commitment. Please join us if you can commit to this labor on behalf of the SIG.
Thank you!
CESJ Board
Available Positions & Descriptions:
Co-chair: Collaborates with other co-chair to schedule/plan for/facilitate board meetings, plans the business meeting and social, oversees all sub-committees, and manages communication with the SIG.
Fiscal Co-chair: Collaborates with the other fiscal co-chair to handle all financial paperwork, helps planning committees create budgets for their events, facilitates reimbursements and payments, and monitors the overall budget.
Communications Co-chair: Collaborates with the other communications co-chair to create and disseminate monthly announcements and quarterly newsletters, maintains the website and other social media platforms, recruits people to write for the blog, and communicates with members via the listserve.
Program Co-chair: Collaborates with the other program co-chair to coordinate all AERA annual meeting submissions and reviews, ensures three reviews of all submissions (which means you may have to do a lot of reviews this summer!), and communicates with AERA and membership about the process.
Graduate Student Representative Co-Chair: Collaborates with other graduate student representative co-chair to coordinate graduate student events at AERA annual meeting including graduate student forum, fireside chat, organizes any other graduate student programing throughout the year, and represents CESJ graduate student members’ concerns and interests at board meetings and throughout the year.
2020 Nominations and Election Timeline
- October 1, 2019 – Begin submitting candidate information
- October 27, 2019 - Nominations due to CESJ Board
- October 30, 2019 – Final due date for candidates’ information to be submitted to AERA
- January 2020 – Election launches in early January.
- February 2020 – Voting ends in early February.
- Late‐February 2020 – The AERA Central office will notify candidates and SIG Chairs about the election results. Election results will be announced in Highlights.
- April 2020 -- SIG board meeting at AERA annual meeting
- May 2020 -- New board member terms begin.
Spring 2019 CESJ Newsletter
| cesj_spring_2019_newsletter_final2.pdf |
Critical Educators for Social Justice Graduate Student Forum 2019
Friday, April 5, 2019 | 9am - 3pm | Community location TBD | Toronto, Ontario, Canada
The Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ) Special Interest Group (SIG) invites you to apply to the 11th Annual Graduate Student Forum (GSF) during the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference in Toronto, Canada. This forum is a designated session free of charge for approximately 25-30 doctoral students. The session includes a light breakfast, lunch, a panel of distinguished professors, as well as opportunities to interact with both panelists and participants.
The purpose of the Graduate Student Forum is to create space for doctoral students committed to and engaged in social justice and critical education research to:
Within our current political climate, learning how to be a critical scholar in turbulent times is more imperative than ever before. The continued efforts to dehumanize minoritized and marginalized communities necessitate charting radical paths to dismantle artificial borders between scholarship and activism by sustaining relationships with people, places, and critical counter-spaces. Educators committed to social justice praxis honor place and hold space to navigate and negotiate realms of liminality, criticality and fugitivity in the academy and beyond. In this intergenerational gathering, critical scholars and scholar-activists, or “scholactivists”, will (re)connect, (re)energize, and strive towards wellness, while building community and strategizing on how to tear down the walls that dehumanize, colonize and otherize our people, our places and planet.
This year’s theme is: Humanizing borderlands with radical love and critical clapback: Building bridges to hold space and honor place. To that end, some of the questions guiding our 11th Annual CESJ Graduate Student Forum include:
3. In our scholactivist strivings, how do we prevent falling into the trappings of the academy?
a. in advocating, representing, and serving minoritized students?
b. and, in producing, humanizing and decolonizing (P.H.D.) knowledge?
Application Process:
To be considered please fill out the online application by clicking the link or enter http://bit.ly/2SoE04Z in your browser and complete by: Friday, February 22, 2019 5pm PST.
Space is limited and interested participants should complete the application as soon as possible. Applicants are asked to provide the following information:
The CESJ Graduate Student Forum aims to gather a diverse group of graduate students whose work and backgrounds align with CESJ’s mission and values. We hope to have representation from different universities, stages in the graduate process, research interests, ethnic/racial groups (especially underrepresented Students of Color), gender identities, sexualities, and other identities.
Please direct any questions about the forum (GSF) to CESJgradforum@gmail.com.
In solidarity,
2019 CESJ GSF Planning Team
Malayka Neith Cornejo, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Nikki Cristobal, University of Pittsburgh
Jawanza Kalonji Rand, University of Pittsburgh
Oscar Patrón, University of Pittsburgh
Lisa Covington, University of Iowa
Gabriela Vargas, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Nerizta Diaz-Cruz, University of New Mexico
Eric Washington, University of Pittsburgh
The Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ) Special Interest Group (SIG) invites you to apply to the 11th Annual Graduate Student Forum (GSF) during the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference in Toronto, Canada. This forum is a designated session free of charge for approximately 25-30 doctoral students. The session includes a light breakfast, lunch, a panel of distinguished professors, as well as opportunities to interact with both panelists and participants.
The purpose of the Graduate Student Forum is to create space for doctoral students committed to and engaged in social justice and critical education research to:
- Help prepare critical scholars for future scholarship and related work.
- Identify strategies and tools to share and take back to our colleagues, students, communities, and home institutions.
- Learn from scholars and peers about the possibilities and tensions that arise in social justice and critical education research.
Within our current political climate, learning how to be a critical scholar in turbulent times is more imperative than ever before. The continued efforts to dehumanize minoritized and marginalized communities necessitate charting radical paths to dismantle artificial borders between scholarship and activism by sustaining relationships with people, places, and critical counter-spaces. Educators committed to social justice praxis honor place and hold space to navigate and negotiate realms of liminality, criticality and fugitivity in the academy and beyond. In this intergenerational gathering, critical scholars and scholar-activists, or “scholactivists”, will (re)connect, (re)energize, and strive towards wellness, while building community and strategizing on how to tear down the walls that dehumanize, colonize and otherize our people, our places and planet.
This year’s theme is: Humanizing borderlands with radical love and critical clapback: Building bridges to hold space and honor place. To that end, some of the questions guiding our 11th Annual CESJ Graduate Student Forum include:
- How can we leverage/engage/activate radical love and critical clapback to sustain relationships across borderlands in the academy and beyond?
- In humanizing borderlands, what strategies might doctoral students engage to tear down walls, build bridges, hold space and honor place in hostile climates?
3. In our scholactivist strivings, how do we prevent falling into the trappings of the academy?
a. in advocating, representing, and serving minoritized students?
b. and, in producing, humanizing and decolonizing (P.H.D.) knowledge?
Application Process:
To be considered please fill out the online application by clicking the link or enter http://bit.ly/2SoE04Z in your browser and complete by: Friday, February 22, 2019 5pm PST.
Space is limited and interested participants should complete the application as soon as possible. Applicants are asked to provide the following information:
- General background
- Current academic status and institutional background
- Research interests
- What you hope to gain from your participation in the forum
The CESJ Graduate Student Forum aims to gather a diverse group of graduate students whose work and backgrounds align with CESJ’s mission and values. We hope to have representation from different universities, stages in the graduate process, research interests, ethnic/racial groups (especially underrepresented Students of Color), gender identities, sexualities, and other identities.
Please direct any questions about the forum (GSF) to CESJgradforum@gmail.com.
In solidarity,
2019 CESJ GSF Planning Team
Malayka Neith Cornejo, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Nikki Cristobal, University of Pittsburgh
Jawanza Kalonji Rand, University of Pittsburgh
Oscar Patrón, University of Pittsburgh
Lisa Covington, University of Iowa
Gabriela Vargas, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Nerizta Diaz-Cruz, University of New Mexico
Eric Washington, University of Pittsburgh
CESJ Early Career Scholars Forum
The Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ), a Special Interest Group (SIG) of The American Educational Research Association (AERA) invites applications for the Pre-Conference CESJ Early Career Scholars Forum to be held Friday, April 5, 2019 from 9am-3pm. The forum is designed to support early-career tenure track faculty, non-tenure track faculty, and postdoctoral scholars. During the forum, participants will gather with scholar-mentors from CESJ to discuss various topics related to research and scholarship, teaching, community-engaged scholarship, and service. Our goals are to provide early career scholars with 1) a sense of community with scholars committed to critical scholarship and social justice; 2) mentorship from a range of scholars (junior and senior level colleagues and community scholars); 3) practical tools and strategies for navigating academic and public contexts; and 4) a chance to network and build community with other CESJ early career scholars.
This is the SIG’s fourth year offering this event and has been modeled after our highly successful Graduate Student Forum. The CESJ Early Career Scholar Forum will be a powerful gathering of scholars across the United States and Canada committed to producing and supporting critical scholarship and practice within education. The forum will include time with panelists, informal large group activities and interactive small group discussions. Refreshments will be provided. Our goal is to create a space that is both communal and intimate by providing many opportunities for interaction between participants and between participants and panelists.
Potential themes and topics of exploration during the forum may include:
Navigating different university contexts as a social justice scholar
Confronting, challenging, and dismantling white supremacy, neoliberalism, ableism, cis-heteropatriarchy and other systemic inequities
Publishing and advocating for justice-oriented scholarship
Centering wellness amidst the demands of activism, teaching, and scholarship
Finding mentors, community, and solidarity
Understanding the importance, risks, and strategies of public scholarship
Creating a successful tenure dossier as a social justice/critically engaged scholar
Defining one’s self as a social justice and/or critically engaged scholar
Accepted participants will be notified by Monday, March 4, 2019.
Please contact Nini Hayes (nini.hayes@wwu.edu) or Oscar Navarro (osnavarr@calpoly.edu) for additional information and/or if you require assistance with the application process.
https://goo.gl/forms/9yNCVbZS4bVVoBYq2
CESJ Early Career Scholars Forum Planning Committee
Nini Hayes, Western Washington University (Co-chair)
Oscar Navarro, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo (Co-chair)
Katy Crawford-Garrett, University of New Mexico
Sherry Deckman, Lehman College of CUNY
Christian Brancho, University of La Verne
This is the SIG’s fourth year offering this event and has been modeled after our highly successful Graduate Student Forum. The CESJ Early Career Scholar Forum will be a powerful gathering of scholars across the United States and Canada committed to producing and supporting critical scholarship and practice within education. The forum will include time with panelists, informal large group activities and interactive small group discussions. Refreshments will be provided. Our goal is to create a space that is both communal and intimate by providing many opportunities for interaction between participants and between participants and panelists.
Potential themes and topics of exploration during the forum may include:
Navigating different university contexts as a social justice scholar
Confronting, challenging, and dismantling white supremacy, neoliberalism, ableism, cis-heteropatriarchy and other systemic inequities
Publishing and advocating for justice-oriented scholarship
Centering wellness amidst the demands of activism, teaching, and scholarship
Finding mentors, community, and solidarity
Understanding the importance, risks, and strategies of public scholarship
Creating a successful tenure dossier as a social justice/critically engaged scholar
Defining one’s self as a social justice and/or critically engaged scholar
Accepted participants will be notified by Monday, March 4, 2019.
Please contact Nini Hayes (nini.hayes@wwu.edu) or Oscar Navarro (osnavarr@calpoly.edu) for additional information and/or if you require assistance with the application process.
https://goo.gl/forms/9yNCVbZS4bVVoBYq2
CESJ Early Career Scholars Forum Planning Committee
Nini Hayes, Western Washington University (Co-chair)
Oscar Navarro, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo (Co-chair)
Katy Crawford-Garrett, University of New Mexico
Sherry Deckman, Lehman College of CUNY
Christian Brancho, University of La Verne
Fall 2018 Newsletter
Our Fall 2018 Newsletter is included below:
| cesj_fall_2018_newsletter_final_revision.pdf |
Spring Newsletter 2018
| cesj_spring_newsletter_2018_web.pdf |
Statement of Solidarity for Critical Scholars/Scholarship
The Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ) Special Interest Group (SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) is committed to the struggle for social justice, human rights and democracy in education for diverse communities. We promote research, teaching, and activism including but not limited to cultural, racial, linguistic, political, and economic self-determination within our classrooms, schools, and communities.
A significant objective of CESJ is to promote communication and collaboration among critical educators and researchers working in public schools, universities, and community education programs. We believe that education, as a form of critical understanding, plays a crucial role in transforming society; therefore, we encourage the participation of educators whose work is founded upon these principles.
We write this letter to emphasize our commitment to supporting critical scholarship and supporting critical scholars. Dr. Rochelle Gutiérrez has recently come under attack due to the critical nature of her work, such as explicit discussion of power and privilege in mathematics education. (For a timeline of events and relevant links and resources please visit this site: https://equitymathed.wordpress.com. This site also links to statements of support from 11 national organizations, such as the Research in Mathematics Education SIG, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators.)
These attacks have been aimed at other critical scholars in the past, and we know that they will likely and unfortunately continue to happen in the future. The Critical Educators for Social Justice SIG stands in solidarity with critical scholars engaging in transformative research and scholarship. We urge university administration to support scholars engaging in critical social justice research agendas. And we urge our community to come together to support each other. We also commit to supporting our graduate students doing this work and supporting the P-20 youth who may be participants in research projects. We know that when we stand together we are stronger and more powerful in our ability to create meaningful change in education.
Thank you,
CESJ Co-Chairs
Kari Kokka and Wayne Au
A significant objective of CESJ is to promote communication and collaboration among critical educators and researchers working in public schools, universities, and community education programs. We believe that education, as a form of critical understanding, plays a crucial role in transforming society; therefore, we encourage the participation of educators whose work is founded upon these principles.
We write this letter to emphasize our commitment to supporting critical scholarship and supporting critical scholars. Dr. Rochelle Gutiérrez has recently come under attack due to the critical nature of her work, such as explicit discussion of power and privilege in mathematics education. (For a timeline of events and relevant links and resources please visit this site: https://equitymathed.wordpress.com. This site also links to statements of support from 11 national organizations, such as the Research in Mathematics Education SIG, National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, and Association of Mathematics Teacher Educators.)
These attacks have been aimed at other critical scholars in the past, and we know that they will likely and unfortunately continue to happen in the future. The Critical Educators for Social Justice SIG stands in solidarity with critical scholars engaging in transformative research and scholarship. We urge university administration to support scholars engaging in critical social justice research agendas. And we urge our community to come together to support each other. We also commit to supporting our graduate students doing this work and supporting the P-20 youth who may be participants in research projects. We know that when we stand together we are stronger and more powerful in our ability to create meaningful change in education.
Thank you,
CESJ Co-Chairs
Kari Kokka and Wayne Au
Fall 2017 CESJ Newsletter
Inside this issue:
Letter from the Chairs: DACA, Charlottesville, Mexican American Studies, Radical Healing and more
AERA Reports- Business Meeting, Early Career Scholar Forum, Graduate Student Forum & Award Winners
AERA 2018 Committees: Invitation to Serve
Interview: Curtis Acosta on the MAS court case
Meet the 2018 CESJ Board
Click here to download the Fall 2017 Newsletter
| CESJ Fall 2017 Newsletter |
CESJ at AERA 2017
The 2017 annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) in San Antonio, TX is nearly here! CESJ has a lot of events and exciting sessions planned, including our pre-conference forums, business meeting and fireside chat featuring a panel of distinguished critical scholars, and a co-sponsored super SIG social. For more information about CESJ specific events, check out a special edition of our 2017 CESJ Spring newsletter below.
| spring_newsletter.pdf |
Registration Now Open for the 2017 CESJ Graduate Student Forum "Hope and Resistance: Strategies for Social Justice Scholarship and Praxis"
The Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ) Special Interest Group (SIG) invites you to apply to participate in the ninth annual Graduate Student Forum (GSF) prior to the start of the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference in San Antonio, TX. This forum is a designated session free of charge for ~ 20 doctoral students. The session includes a light breakfast, full lunch, and a panel of distinguished professors with opportunities to interact informally with panelists and other participants. The GSF will take place Thursday April 27, 2017 8a-1p. To be considered please fill out the application by Friday, March 3, 2017 5pm PST. The application link can be found here: https://goo.gl/forms/7oBBYqD8Bdx2WfsG3
Confirmed panelists:
➢ Dr. Michael Dumas, University of California Berkeley
➢ Dr. Rita Kohli, University of California Riverside
➢ Dr. Crystal Laura, Chicago State University
➢ Dr. Sonia Nieto, University of Massachusetts Amherst
The purpose of the Graduate Student Forum is to create space for doctoral students committed to and engaged in social justice and critical education research to:
1. Help prepare critical scholars for future scholarship and related work.
2. Identify strategies and tools to share and take back to our colleagues, students, communities, and home institutions.
3. Learn from scholars and peers about the possibilities and tensions that arise in social justice and critical education research.
Forum Themes and Topics: "Hope and Resistance: Strategies for Social Justice Scholarship and Praxis"
While the collective struggles for educational equity, justice, and liberation are not new, our efforts towards social justice are reinvigorated in a historical moment marked by, a) the resurgence in overt manifestations of Islamophobia, racism, misogyny, ableism, nativism, and xenophobia, and the resultant increase of hate crimes on university and K-12 campuses, b) the ramped-up assault on public education through unbridled free market reforms, and c) the persistence of intersecting racialized, gendered, and classed schooling contexts that are simultaneously sanctioned and invisibilized by the state. In light of the continuing and current challenges facing the struggles for material change and educational equity, this year’s CESJ Graduate Student Forum collectively asks: What are our roles as doctoral students engaged in social justice scholarship in the struggle for collective resistance? What strategies might social justice doctoral students engage in to pursue our continued work alongside our communities in the current context?
The members of the Critical Educators for Social Justice SIG are committed to teach, promote, and implement the principles of critical pedagogy in order to establish an educational movement grounded in the struggle for social and economic justice, human rights, and economic democracy. The members of CESJ are committed to cultural, linguistic, political, and economic self-determination within our classrooms, schools, and communities.
Application Process:
To be considered please fill out the application by Friday, March 3, 2017 5pm PST. Space is limited. We encourage applicants from diverse research interests, identities and graduate experiences. Interested participants are encouraged to complete registration form as soon as possible! To apply for the forum, graduate students will need to use this link to complete the application form with required information below:
a. General participant background.
b. Current participant academic status and institutional background.
c. Participant’s research interests.
d. Description of what you hope to gain from your participation in the forum.
The CESJ Graduate Student Forum aims to gather a diverse group of graduate students for this event whose work and backgrounds are in line with CESJ’s mission and values. We hope to have representation from many different universities, students’ years in graduate school, research interests, ethnic/racial groups (especially underrepresented Students of Color), gender identities, sexualities, among other identities present at the forum.
Thank you for your interest. Please direct any questions about the Graduate Student Forum (GSF) to CESJgradforum@gmail.com.
Sincerely,
2017 CESJ GSF Planning Team
Arturo Nevárez, University of California, Riverside
Kari Kokka, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Aja Reynolds, University of Illinois Chicago
Farima Pour-Khorshid, University of California Santa Cruz
Malayka Bustamante, University of Nevada Las Vegas
Steph Cariaga, University of California Los Angeles
Confirmed panelists:
➢ Dr. Michael Dumas, University of California Berkeley
➢ Dr. Rita Kohli, University of California Riverside
➢ Dr. Crystal Laura, Chicago State University
➢ Dr. Sonia Nieto, University of Massachusetts Amherst
The purpose of the Graduate Student Forum is to create space for doctoral students committed to and engaged in social justice and critical education research to:
1. Help prepare critical scholars for future scholarship and related work.
2. Identify strategies and tools to share and take back to our colleagues, students, communities, and home institutions.
3. Learn from scholars and peers about the possibilities and tensions that arise in social justice and critical education research.
Forum Themes and Topics: "Hope and Resistance: Strategies for Social Justice Scholarship and Praxis"
While the collective struggles for educational equity, justice, and liberation are not new, our efforts towards social justice are reinvigorated in a historical moment marked by, a) the resurgence in overt manifestations of Islamophobia, racism, misogyny, ableism, nativism, and xenophobia, and the resultant increase of hate crimes on university and K-12 campuses, b) the ramped-up assault on public education through unbridled free market reforms, and c) the persistence of intersecting racialized, gendered, and classed schooling contexts that are simultaneously sanctioned and invisibilized by the state. In light of the continuing and current challenges facing the struggles for material change and educational equity, this year’s CESJ Graduate Student Forum collectively asks: What are our roles as doctoral students engaged in social justice scholarship in the struggle for collective resistance? What strategies might social justice doctoral students engage in to pursue our continued work alongside our communities in the current context?
The members of the Critical Educators for Social Justice SIG are committed to teach, promote, and implement the principles of critical pedagogy in order to establish an educational movement grounded in the struggle for social and economic justice, human rights, and economic democracy. The members of CESJ are committed to cultural, linguistic, political, and economic self-determination within our classrooms, schools, and communities.
Application Process:
To be considered please fill out the application by Friday, March 3, 2017 5pm PST. Space is limited. We encourage applicants from diverse research interests, identities and graduate experiences. Interested participants are encouraged to complete registration form as soon as possible! To apply for the forum, graduate students will need to use this link to complete the application form with required information below:
a. General participant background.
b. Current participant academic status and institutional background.
c. Participant’s research interests.
d. Description of what you hope to gain from your participation in the forum.
The CESJ Graduate Student Forum aims to gather a diverse group of graduate students for this event whose work and backgrounds are in line with CESJ’s mission and values. We hope to have representation from many different universities, students’ years in graduate school, research interests, ethnic/racial groups (especially underrepresented Students of Color), gender identities, sexualities, among other identities present at the forum.
Thank you for your interest. Please direct any questions about the Graduate Student Forum (GSF) to CESJgradforum@gmail.com.
Sincerely,
2017 CESJ GSF Planning Team
Arturo Nevárez, University of California, Riverside
Kari Kokka, Harvard Graduate School of Education
Aja Reynolds, University of Illinois Chicago
Farima Pour-Khorshid, University of California Santa Cruz
Malayka Bustamante, University of Nevada Las Vegas
Steph Cariaga, University of California Los Angeles
Registration Now Open for the 2017 CESJ Early Career Scholar Forum: Navigating and Surviving the Academy as a Social Justice Scholar
The Critical Educators for Social Justice SIG will offer a pre-conference forum for early career scholars (non-tenured). The forum is open to early-career tenure track faculty, non-tenure track faculty, and postdoctoral scholars. During the forum, participants will gather with scholar-mentors from CESJ to discuss various topics related to research and scholarship, teaching, community-engaged scholarship, and service. The purpose of the forum is to provide early career scholars with 1) a sense of community with scholars committed to critical scholarship and social justice; 2) mentorship from a range of scholars (junior and senior level colleagues); 3) practical tools and strategies for navigating academic contexts; 4) a chance to network and build community with other CESJ early career scholars. This is the SIG’s second year offering this event. The CESJ Early Career Scholar Forum will be a powerful gathering of scholars across the country committed to producing and supporting critical scholarship and practice within education. We hope you decide to join us! *Refreshments will be served throughout the seminar.
Forum Themes and Topics:
This forum is designed to help social justice oriented scholars thrive in institutional settings, build community with like-minded scholars, and gain sustainable strategies for navigating the academy. Themes and topics explored during the forum may include:
Registration Process:
Space is limited and participants will be accepted on a first come first serve basis. Those who are interested in attending should complete our registration form as soon as possible! To apply for the forum, CESJ members should:
1. Use this link to complete the registration form: https://goo.gl/forms/0ZP5YcNXPfNvltTB2
Navigating and Surviving the Academy as a Social Justice Scholar Thursday, April 27, 2017, 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Location: TBA; San Antonio, TX. *Space is limited and the deadline to register is March 3rd, 2017 at 11:59pm PST. Please note that in order to foster community, we ask you to commit to attending the full forum if you would like to participate.
2. The registration form will require the following information in order to facilitate planning:
(a) The applicant’s general background
(b)The applicant’s current academic position and relevant aspects of the institutional setting
(c) The applicant’s research interests
(d) A description of one or two significant challenges facing the applicant as a CESJ scholar and description of what you hope to gain from your participation in the seminar
Space is limited and the deadline for registration is Friday, March 3rd at 11:59 p.m. (PST). Participants will be notified by email in mid-March 2017.
The Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ) Special Interest Group (SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) is committed to the struggle for social justice, human rights and democracy in education for diverse communities. We promote research, teaching, and activism including but not limited to cultural, racial, linguistic, political, and economic self-determination within our classrooms, schools, and communities. A significant objective of CESJ is to promote communication and collaboration among critical educators and researchers working in public schools, universities, and community education programs. We believe that education, as a form of critical understanding, plays a crucial role in transforming society; therefore, we encourage the participation of educators whose work is founded upon these principles.
Please direct any questions about the Early Career Scholar Forum to organizers Laura Quaynor (quaynola@lewisu.edu) or Shanta Robinson (srrobinson@uchicago.edu).
Early Career Scholar Forum Planning Committee:
Kelly Brown, Prairie View A&M University
Alison Dover, California State- Fullerton
Nini Hayes, St. Martin’s University
Leslie Locke, University of Iowa
Laura Quaynor, Lewis University
Shanta Robinson, University of Chicago
Forum Themes and Topics:
This forum is designed to help social justice oriented scholars thrive in institutional settings, build community with like-minded scholars, and gain sustainable strategies for navigating the academy. Themes and topics explored during the forum may include:
- Navigating different university contexts as a social justice scholar
- Negotiating, confronting, and challenging whiteness in the academy
- Publishing and advocating for justice-oriented scholarship
- Balancing scholar-activism, wellness, and the demands of the academy
- Finding mentors, community, and solidarity as faculty member
- Understanding the importance, risks, and strategies of public scholarship
- Articulating your scholarship outside of the academy
- How to create a successful tenure dossier as a social justice/critically engaged scholar
- How to define one’s self as a social justice and/or critically engaged scholar
- Additional topics may be added based on participants’ interests noted in registration
Registration Process:
Space is limited and participants will be accepted on a first come first serve basis. Those who are interested in attending should complete our registration form as soon as possible! To apply for the forum, CESJ members should:
1. Use this link to complete the registration form: https://goo.gl/forms/0ZP5YcNXPfNvltTB2
Navigating and Surviving the Academy as a Social Justice Scholar Thursday, April 27, 2017, 3:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m. Location: TBA; San Antonio, TX. *Space is limited and the deadline to register is March 3rd, 2017 at 11:59pm PST. Please note that in order to foster community, we ask you to commit to attending the full forum if you would like to participate.
2. The registration form will require the following information in order to facilitate planning:
(a) The applicant’s general background
(b)The applicant’s current academic position and relevant aspects of the institutional setting
(c) The applicant’s research interests
(d) A description of one or two significant challenges facing the applicant as a CESJ scholar and description of what you hope to gain from your participation in the seminar
Space is limited and the deadline for registration is Friday, March 3rd at 11:59 p.m. (PST). Participants will be notified by email in mid-March 2017.
The Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ) Special Interest Group (SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) is committed to the struggle for social justice, human rights and democracy in education for diverse communities. We promote research, teaching, and activism including but not limited to cultural, racial, linguistic, political, and economic self-determination within our classrooms, schools, and communities. A significant objective of CESJ is to promote communication and collaboration among critical educators and researchers working in public schools, universities, and community education programs. We believe that education, as a form of critical understanding, plays a crucial role in transforming society; therefore, we encourage the participation of educators whose work is founded upon these principles.
Please direct any questions about the Early Career Scholar Forum to organizers Laura Quaynor (quaynola@lewisu.edu) or Shanta Robinson (srrobinson@uchicago.edu).
Early Career Scholar Forum Planning Committee:
Kelly Brown, Prairie View A&M University
Alison Dover, California State- Fullerton
Nini Hayes, St. Martin’s University
Leslie Locke, University of Iowa
Laura Quaynor, Lewis University
Shanta Robinson, University of Chicago
Winter 2017 Newsletter
Happy New Year everyone! We hope you're keeping warm and that your semester is off to a great start. We're happy to announce that our Winter 2017 newsletter is available and can be read right here! This issue features the following: a rousing letter from our SIG's co-chairs; an expansive listing of 2016 publications from our CESJ membership; inspiring stories of hope and resistance; and contact information for those interested in the application process for CESJ's 2017 Graduate Student and Early Career forums to take place at the upcoming AERA Annual Meeting in San Antonio, TX.
We will publish another short newsletter about 2017 CESJ conference sessions and events. So, be on the look out for that. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this issue of the newsletter and find it useful in both your practice and reflection.
We will publish another short newsletter about 2017 CESJ conference sessions and events. So, be on the look out for that. In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this issue of the newsletter and find it useful in both your practice and reflection.
| cesj_winter_2017_newsletter.pdf |
A Message from the CESJ Executive Board Regarding the Recent Presidential Executive Orders
We, the Executive Board and other members of CESJ, stand in solidarity with those affected by the U.S. President’s executive order temporarily banning individuals from Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Yemen from entering the United States.
We offer love and support to our members, friends, colleagues, and students who are impacted by this despicable order that makes us less safe, contrary to the rhetoric being used to promote this hate. It is reckless, destructive, bigoted, and short-sighted.
We are exhausted by the other executive orders and actions taken this past week, including the order to authorize reviving the Keystone XL pipeline and Dakota Access pipelines, the building of a U.S.-Mexico border wall, the stripping of federal grant money to sanctuary cities, and the order to reinstate the so-called "Mexico City Policy" – a ban on federal funds to international groups that perform abortions or lobby to legalize or promote abortion to which we vociferously object and encourage our membership to remain vigilant.
We know that while words can be encouraging, they are often not enough. In terms of pedagogy, we would like to point you in the direction of The Kharij Collective of the Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education. They are sponsoring a national Teach-In entitled ‘Presidential Executive Order Banning Muslims, Immigrants, and Refugees’ to be held on Wednesday, February 8th at 4pm EST. Registration is free at the following link: http://immigrationbanteachin.eventbrite.com
You can also get involved, get more informed, and donate to the following organizations that help advocate and work on behalf of Muslims and other refugees:
https://www.muslimadvocates.org
https://www.cair.com
https://www.mlfa.org
http://www.cunyclear.org/
https://www.aclu.org
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org
http://www.afj.org
http://ccrjustice.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org
http://www.aila.org
We pledge to work within our universities to push our institutions to offer sanctuary and support for these members of our community rather than act as agents of an administration whose orders are unethical, inhumane, and likely unconstitutional.
We acknowledge that the struggles for liberation, for equity and justice are not new phenomena, and that others have made infinite contributions toward our collective victories. We fight with a renewed purpose, with collective voice and resolution, and we vow to not leave anyone behind. Our advocacy will now and always be inclusive and intersectional, “For, if they take you in the morning, they will be coming for us that night”.
The Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ) Special Interest Group (SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) is committed to the struggle for social justice, human rights and democracy in education for diverse communities. We promote research, teaching, and activism including but not limited to cultural, racial, linguistic, political, and economic self-determination within our classrooms, schools, and communities.
With you in the long struggle,
The CESJ Executive Board
We offer love and support to our members, friends, colleagues, and students who are impacted by this despicable order that makes us less safe, contrary to the rhetoric being used to promote this hate. It is reckless, destructive, bigoted, and short-sighted.
We are exhausted by the other executive orders and actions taken this past week, including the order to authorize reviving the Keystone XL pipeline and Dakota Access pipelines, the building of a U.S.-Mexico border wall, the stripping of federal grant money to sanctuary cities, and the order to reinstate the so-called "Mexico City Policy" – a ban on federal funds to international groups that perform abortions or lobby to legalize or promote abortion to which we vociferously object and encourage our membership to remain vigilant.
We know that while words can be encouraging, they are often not enough. In terms of pedagogy, we would like to point you in the direction of The Kharij Collective of the Center for the Study of Race and Equity in Education. They are sponsoring a national Teach-In entitled ‘Presidential Executive Order Banning Muslims, Immigrants, and Refugees’ to be held on Wednesday, February 8th at 4pm EST. Registration is free at the following link: http://immigrationbanteachin.eventbrite.com
You can also get involved, get more informed, and donate to the following organizations that help advocate and work on behalf of Muslims and other refugees:
https://www.muslimadvocates.org
https://www.cair.com
https://www.mlfa.org
http://www.cunyclear.org/
https://www.aclu.org
http://www.humanrightsfirst.org
http://www.afj.org
http://ccrjustice.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org
http://www.aila.org
We pledge to work within our universities to push our institutions to offer sanctuary and support for these members of our community rather than act as agents of an administration whose orders are unethical, inhumane, and likely unconstitutional.
We acknowledge that the struggles for liberation, for equity and justice are not new phenomena, and that others have made infinite contributions toward our collective victories. We fight with a renewed purpose, with collective voice and resolution, and we vow to not leave anyone behind. Our advocacy will now and always be inclusive and intersectional, “For, if they take you in the morning, they will be coming for us that night”.
The Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ) Special Interest Group (SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) is committed to the struggle for social justice, human rights and democracy in education for diverse communities. We promote research, teaching, and activism including but not limited to cultural, racial, linguistic, political, and economic self-determination within our classrooms, schools, and communities.
With you in the long struggle,
The CESJ Executive Board
Call for 2016 Publications and 2017 Awards Nominations
It's that time again! In our ongoing effort to highlight and share the scholarship of our members, we invite all members to submit a list of their 2016 publications for our Spring 2017 newsletter by filling out this form.
We are also seeking nominations for our 2017 awards, as well as volunteers to serve on the awards selections committee. For more information about the awards and awards committees, please see this announcement.
Fall 2016 Newsletter
Welcome back! We hope everyone is settling in and off to a great start to another new school year. Our new Fall 2016 Newsletter is here and is packed full of updates about what CESJ has been up to this year. You will find information about: the new CESJ Executive Board members; the 2016 CESJ award winners; what our SIG accomplished at the 2016 AERA Annual Meeting; an important OP/ED statement from The People's Education Movement; some important tips and links on self-care; and even some cool book recommendations. You can either scroll through the newsletter displayed below or download it.
| cesj_newsletter_fall_2016.pdf |
The Winter 2016 Newsletter is here! Check it out for the latest updates about CESJ sponsored events for the upcoming 2016 AERA Annual Meeting. We also have a great list of the newest scholarship from your very own SIG colleagues, as well as tips for teaching social justice related to the Flint, MI water crisis, and so much more!
Check out our Fall Newsletter:
ANNUAL AERA MEETING PROPOSAL SUBMISSION DEADLINE
WEDNESDAY ~ JULY 22ND 2015
Here's a friendly reminder that proposal submissions for AERA are due on Wednesday, July 22nd. We encourage you to submit ideas for papers, roundtables, poster sessions, symposia, etc. related to the meeting theme, Public Scholarship to Educate Diverse Democracies as well as to our SIG's mission. We invite scholars from all divisions and SIGs to submit proposals. As a reminder, paper and session submissions must not identify the author(s) in any way. Proposals for papers, posters, roundtables, and symposia/sessions are encouraged, and innovative session designs are welcomed. In order to accommodate flexibility in program decisions, please select all of the formats in which you would be willing to present your work. Keep in mind that the number of proposals and the size of our active membership determine the number of sessions allocated to each SIG. Please consider our SIG as a place to share your work, and renew your SIG membership when you submit your proposals. Encourage students and colleagues to join our SIG too! All information about the annual meeting can be found at www.aera.net.
Check out our AERA Preview newsletter:
NEWS & UPDATES
CESJ STATEMENT OF SOLIDARITY
We, the Executive Board of the Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ) special interest group (SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), stand in solidarity with communities working to challenge racism. Based on recent grand juries failure to indict the officers who killed Michael Brown and Eric Garner, and as educators committed to equity and justice, we feel a responsibility to take a formal stance against the anti-blackness that plagues our schools, justice system, and society. The events in Ferguson, Missouri and Staten Island, New York provide two examples of blatant racial injustice woven into the fabric of the United States. Even since the killing of Michael Brown on August 9, 2014, we have seen multiple cases of unarmed Black youth shot and killed by the police, including twelve-year-old Tamir Rice.
Our SIG has, at its heart and in our mission, a commitment to “the struggle for social justice, human rights, and democracy in education for diverse communities.” This includes a challenge to the ongoing and systemic racial oppression that we see in Ferguson and beyond. As critical education scholars, we must recognize the socializing message of this callous disregard of Black lives. We have a responsibility to reframe the discussion and illuminate that #BlackLivesMatter. We cannot afford to stay silent.
We also recognize that the academy itself perpetuates messages of racism and other forms of structural oppression of marginalized groups. We are all implicated. We urge the academic community to use their tools of power and privilege to speak and act out against continued injustices in our nation. From writing and teaching, to organizing and marching in the streets, there are many ways to voice our opposition. We believe that education is a critical component of speaking truth to power and working to dismantle oppressive systems and structures. As our CESJ mission states, “we believe that education, as a form of critical understanding, plays a crucial role in transforming society.”
Building on the ideological and political intervention the #BlackLivesMatter movement, as well as on the public solidarity statements from several faculty at Smith College and Portland State University, we commit to the following and encourage our communities to:
In solidarity,
The Executive Board of the Critical Educators for Social Justice SIG
Rita Kohli, Ph.D., Co-Chair
University of California, Riverside
Alyssa Hadley Dunn, Ph.D, Co-Chair
Michigan State University
Bianca Baldridge, Ph.D. Communications Co-Chair
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Katy Swalwell, Ph.D., Communications Co-Chair
Iowa State University
Keisha Green, Ph.D., Fiscal Co-Chair
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
La Mont Terry, Ph.D., Fiscal Co-Chair
Occidental College
Nicholas Hartlep, Ph.D., Program Co-Chair
Illinois State University
Cleveland Hayes, Ph.D., Program Co-Chair
University of La Verne
We, the Executive Board of the Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ) special interest group (SIG) of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), stand in solidarity with communities working to challenge racism. Based on recent grand juries failure to indict the officers who killed Michael Brown and Eric Garner, and as educators committed to equity and justice, we feel a responsibility to take a formal stance against the anti-blackness that plagues our schools, justice system, and society. The events in Ferguson, Missouri and Staten Island, New York provide two examples of blatant racial injustice woven into the fabric of the United States. Even since the killing of Michael Brown on August 9, 2014, we have seen multiple cases of unarmed Black youth shot and killed by the police, including twelve-year-old Tamir Rice.
Our SIG has, at its heart and in our mission, a commitment to “the struggle for social justice, human rights, and democracy in education for diverse communities.” This includes a challenge to the ongoing and systemic racial oppression that we see in Ferguson and beyond. As critical education scholars, we must recognize the socializing message of this callous disregard of Black lives. We have a responsibility to reframe the discussion and illuminate that #BlackLivesMatter. We cannot afford to stay silent.
We also recognize that the academy itself perpetuates messages of racism and other forms of structural oppression of marginalized groups. We are all implicated. We urge the academic community to use their tools of power and privilege to speak and act out against continued injustices in our nation. From writing and teaching, to organizing and marching in the streets, there are many ways to voice our opposition. We believe that education is a critical component of speaking truth to power and working to dismantle oppressive systems and structures. As our CESJ mission states, “we believe that education, as a form of critical understanding, plays a crucial role in transforming society.”
Building on the ideological and political intervention the #BlackLivesMatter movement, as well as on the public solidarity statements from several faculty at Smith College and Portland State University, we commit to the following and encourage our communities to:
- Challenge and interrupt systemic oppression through participation in social, political, and individual actions;
- Create opportunities for critical, collective dialogue about racism, white supremacy, and other oppressive forces that affect communities of color;
- Collaborate within and across our spheres of influence (professional and personal) to develop ways to dismantle racist institutions and practices
- Encourage White allies to remember that they they are there to support people of color rather than be at the center of the movement, to listen more than to speak, and to redirect misguided (even if well-intentioned) attempts to universalize the narrative of Black lives matter to all lives matter.
- Work with students, teachers, administrators, and other school personnel at all levels to discuss these important issues in classrooms and out-of-school contexts in ways that best support students for being agents of change.
In solidarity,
The Executive Board of the Critical Educators for Social Justice SIG
Rita Kohli, Ph.D., Co-Chair
University of California, Riverside
Alyssa Hadley Dunn, Ph.D, Co-Chair
Michigan State University
Bianca Baldridge, Ph.D. Communications Co-Chair
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Katy Swalwell, Ph.D., Communications Co-Chair
Iowa State University
Keisha Green, Ph.D., Fiscal Co-Chair
University of Massachusetts-Amherst
La Mont Terry, Ph.D., Fiscal Co-Chair
Occidental College
Nicholas Hartlep, Ph.D., Program Co-Chair
Illinois State University
Cleveland Hayes, Ph.D., Program Co-Chair
University of La Verne
Click here for information about "The Scholactivist" blog featuring a member spotlight and short essay written by a SIG member each month. If you would like to nominate someone to be highlighted (or would like to self-nominate), please email Communications Co-Chair Bianca Baldridge at bbaldridge@wisc.edu.