The University of Connecticut will be hosting an ethnic studies symposium today.
From 11 a.m. until 6 p.m. students are invited to UConn’s Wilbur Cross Buildings North Reading Room for the event.
The goal of today’s event is to provide students in the ethnic studies field with a space to collaborate and enjoy the community they are a part of.
“The symposium will create a space for students who research ethnic studies to gather and be in community with one another,” event organizer Karen Lau said. “Often, students of color who research ethnic studies, like myself, feel like we are waiting in the wings for somebody to affirm that our scholarship belongs in the academy. Our communities deserve to be studied and our work matters beyond our campuses.”
Students from across the state will present research, including some from Yale University, Trinity College, Fairfield University and Connecticut College.
Additionally, the current State Poet Laureate, Antoinette Brim-Bell will be the event’s keynote speaker.
“The symposium will have over 30 presentations across eight panels about Africana Studies, Asian American Studies, Latino Studies, Native American and Indigenous Studies, WGSS, medical humanities and more,” Lau said.
Lau made today’s event possible with UConn’s Humanities Institute, an organization with an emphasis on social inquiry, public humanities and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Lau encourages students to take up the opportunity to attend today’s free and unique event. “Most humanities conferences are costly and often closed to undergrads, and the few that are open to undergrads are often held at private universities where very few public school students participate,” Lau said.
A full schedule for the symposium can be found online. Additional information on the event and the UConn Humanities Institute can be found on their website.
“The symposium will be an empowering space for students to share their research, generate dialogue and chart a course for the future of ethnic studies at a critical time when several states are outlawing DEI programs and defunding humanities departments.”