My visit to Hofstra University’s Center for “Race,” Culture and Social Justice By professor Sandra O. de Toledo Leite, Piracicaba, Brazil

Arriving to Hofstra University, and visiting the Center of “Race,” Culture and Social Justice as scholar in residency, was a unique experience for me since the beginning. I was hosted on the first day by one of the Center’s directors, professor Benita Sampedro, who provided me with office space to work during my stay, to prepare for meetings, teaching sessions and interviews. She was very welcoming from the star, and attentive all throughout, what made me feel very comfortable during my entire residency. 
I especially appreciated the invitation to teach one of professor Sampedro’s classes, where I talked to her students about some aspects of Brazilian identity as displayed in contemporary art. It was an amazing opportunity for me to engage in dialogue with her students about Brazilian culture, in a course and program about Latin American Studies with a focus on the Spanish-speaking world. In my presentation, I provided examples from literature, music and the plastic arts. Through literature, Brazil found its first national hero in the figure of the native Indians, through arts and music (samba and bossa nova in particular), Brazilians found their way of protesting against injustices and against the marginalization of the country’s minorities. The students expressed deep interest for the topic and responded with engaging questions. I believe that most of the students in that class asked at least one question following my presentation, and that impressed me.
I consider my stay at Hofstra University very successful and I appreciate the opportunity I was granted. I specially thank professor Tomeka Robinson for making it all possible, and professor Benita Sampedro and the other Center’s directors and student fellows for all their support at the Center for “Race,” Culture and Social Justice. I also thank Hofstra University for having us as Visiting Scholars for two weeks from September 26 to October 9, 2019. It was, overall, a very enriching experience.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Sacrificing Moral Character for Political Expediency: Reflections on Election2024" by Jonathan Lightfoot and Veronica Lippencott

As directors of the Center for “Race,” Culture and Social Justice, we seek to frame the recent re-election of Donald Trump as a social justice issue at the intersections of “race,” culture, religion, and politics. We are disheartened to discover that the United States of America chose a white male, 34-count convicted felon, an adjudicated rapist, psychopathic narcissist, and a pathological liar over a highly qualified Black woman of Asian descent with a clean record of criminal or civil liability. In fact, sitting Vice President Kamala Harris had the highest level of elected office experience of anyone who has sought the presidency during the last 65 years. We posit that finger pointing and blaming does little good without an understanding of the historical, social, and political contexts that yielded such results. The United States of America was founded on white supremacy, Indigenous people’s genocide, African people’s enslavement, and female oppression. The vast majority of Donald’s...
Read more

“Intellectual Bondage: Toward a Politics and Hybridity of Academic Writing” by Tyler Thier

Image
  In “ The Politics of Citation ,” Annabel Kim envisions this titular convention as “the map of a process, not the map of a territory.” She barrels onward, arguing for citation not as a site of accruing intellectual capital where the rich get richer and the stars get brighter while the precariat writing against erasure gets forgotten and poorer, but as a jubilee that levels the fields in which we write so that we might accrue an extravagant set of debts resulting not in intellectual bondage but in intellectual freedom. I’m a writing scholar, so I know quite well that writing is situational, dependent on rhetorical purpose, audience, kairos, and so on, that it flexes across genres and adapts itself to various ethical schema. But just because this is an observed truth in my discipline doesn’t mean it should be fundamentalized. The goal of writing studies and composition is to acclimate students to the idea that writing is an essential object unto ...
Read more

“Mental Health Awareness for Students of Color” by Sasha Ferdinand

Image
Mental health awareness is crucial in communities of color for several reasons. Promoting mental health awareness in communities of color is vital to address the unique challenges and barriers these communities face. It is essential for breaking down stigma, improving access to resources, and providing culturally competent care to ensure everyone has the support they need for their mental well-being. More specifically, how these benefits are necessary for students of color in college. As mentioned, many communities of color face significant stigma around mental health issues. There might be cultural norms or beliefs that stigmatize mental health discussions or seeking professional help. Awareness initiatives can help break down these barriers by providing accurate information and encouraging open conversations. Mental health resources on college campuses vary, but typically, most universities offer a range of support services for students. Counseling Centers are a predominant resource...
Read more