INTERNATIONAL INITIATIVE - Salvador da Bahia, Brazil
Exploring Identity through Difference:
An Immersive Experience of Race and Class in Brazil
In early 2015, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences awarded myself and two colleagues, Marcus Brasileiro and François Dengah, the International Initiative grant to take twelve USU students on a three-week experiential learning trip to Salvador da Bahia, Brazil during the summer of 2016. We worked with local organizations such a Projeto Axé to give our students in-depth perspectives on the roles that race and class play in modern Brazilian society. Check out our Utah Public Radio series on this experience.
CIVIL RIGHTS PILGRIMAGE
The USU Civil Rights Pilgrimage is a yearly experience that provides two USU students with the opportunity to participate in a nine-day pilgrimage through the American South to visit the iconic and historic locations of the civil rights movement of the 1950s and 60s. The pilgrimage provides students with a powerful immersive experience by which they can engage with the very real history of race relations and diversity in the United States at a personal level. Together we get first hand accounts of the civil rights movement by meeting with civil rights leaders and foot soldiers from yesterday and today. The pilgriamge is an initiative directed by David Domke at the University of Washington. Click here for more information. We also work with Utah Public Radio on a radio series related to the pilgriamge. Click here for our UPR website.
INCLUSION CHALK CHALLENGE
#USUInclusion
In 2016 I began a project called the Inclusion Chalk Challenge at Utah State University in an effort to contribute to ongoing culture of diversity and inclusion within the university student body. 32 groups of students rose to the occasion on October 19 to create chalk representations around campus with quotes about the importance of inclusion and diversity. Click on images to view gallery.