“Racism and Anti-Racism in Contemporary America” is a preceptorial designed to provide a broad overview of the causes and consequences of racism in the United States, as well as ways in which this deep-seated “stain” on American society has been and might better be addressed. While racism and other forms of discrimination affect people of various identities, and exist in different forms across the globe, the focus of this preceptorial is specifically on racism towards African Americans in the United States. We hope to develop future preceptorials addressing other forms and locations of discrimination and structural inequality in the future.
Format: Preceptorials are non-credit seminars led by Penn faculty and often including guest participants. They are designed to foster an interactive, conversational experience with no grades or tests, with the goal of “learning for learning’s sake,” making it an ideal platform for discussing an issue as complex, sensitive and timely as racism.
“Racism and Anti-Racism in Contemporary America” will consist of a unique series of 13 interdisciplinary conversations among leading scholars and practitioners drawn from a wide range of fields. Each conversation will focus on the ways in which institutional racism is deeply embedded in different parts of our economic, political, social, and cultural systems. While each conversation will have its own dynamic, all will be organized around three central questions:
- What is the current state of racial disparity regarding the topic?
- What are the root causes of this disparity?
- How has or might this disparity be best addressed?
The virtual panel conversations are open to the public.
See below for the schedule and registration links.
For the full course information visit preceptorial Canvas site using your PennKey.
A collaboration of the SNF Paideia Program, the Office of the Vice President for Social Equity & Community, the Office of the Provost, the Andrea Mitchell Center, Civic House, and New Student Orientation and Academic Initiatives as part of the Year of Civic Engagement.
Schedule:
The Economic System
Monday October 26 (5PM to 6:15PM): Income and Wealth Disparities
Brief welcome and overview by Provost Wendell Pritchett
Panelists
- Amy Castro Baker, Assistant Professor of Social Policy and Practice, University of Pennsylvania
- Darrick Hamilton, Henry Cohen Professor of Economics and Urban Policy, The New School
- Lisa Servon, Kevin and Erica Penn Presidential Professor, City and Regional Planning, University of Pennsylvania
- Regina Smalls Baker, Assistant Professor, Sociology, University of Pennsylvania
Wednesday, November 11 (5PM to 6:15PM): Workplace Diversity, Culture, and Leadership
Panelists
- Anita Allen, Henry R. Silverman Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy and former Vice Provost for Faculty, University of Pennsylvania
- Jaya Aysola, Assistant Professor and Assistant Dean for Inclusion and Diversity at Penn Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
- Stephanie Creary, Assistant Professor of Management, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
- Erika James, Dean, Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
The Housing System
Thursday November 19 (5PM to 6:15PM): Fair Housing Policies and Practices
Panelists
- Wendell Pritchett, Provost and Presidential Professor in the Law School and the Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania
- Amy Hillier, Associate Professor, School of Social Policy & Practice; Associate Professor, Department of City and Regional Planning, Weitzman School of Design, University of Pennsylvania
- Marc Morial, President, National Urban League
- Vincent Reina, Assistant Professor in the Department of City and Regional Planning, University of Pennsylvania
- Susan Wachter, Sussman Professor and Professor of Real Estate and Finance at The Wharton School; Co-Director of the Institute for Urban Research, University of Pennsylvania
The Public Health System
Tuesday December 8 (5PM to 6:15PM): Health and Wellness Disparities
Panelists
- J. Margo Brooks Carthon, Associate Professor of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania
- John Jemmott, Kenneth B. Clark Professor of Communication and Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania
- Lisa Lewis, Associate Professor of Nursing, University of Pennsylvania
- Quayshawn Spencer, Robert S. Blank Presidential Associate Professor of Philosophy
- Howard Stevenson, Constance Clayton Professor of Urban Education, University of Pennsylvania
Wednesday January 27 (5PM to 6:15PM): Health and Wellness Policies
Panelists
- Benoit Dubé, Associate Provost and Chief Wellness Officer, and Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
- Zeke Emanuel, Diane S. Levy and Robert M. Levy University Professor, and Vice Provost for Global Initiatives, University of Pennsylvania
- Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation PIK Professor of Health Policy and Health Equity, University of Pennsylvania
- Jennifer Prah Ruger, Amartya Sen Professor of Health Equity, Economics, and Policy, School of Social Policy & Practice, University of Pennsylvania
- Eugenia South, Assistant Professor, Emergency Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
The Criminal Justice System
February 11 (5PM to 6:15pm): Incarceration and the Law
Panelists
- Regina Austin, William A. Schnader Professor of Law, University of Pennsylvania
- Dorothy Roberts, George A. Weiss University Professor of Law and Sociology; Raymond Pace and Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Professor of Civil Rights, University of Pennsylvania
- Hannah L. Walker, Assistant Professor of Government, University of Texas at Austin
February 24 (5PM to 6:15PM): Policing and Public Safety
Panelists
- Monica Bell, Associate Professor of Law and Sociology, Yale University
- Rashawn Ray, Professor of Sociology and Executive Director of the Lab for Applied Social Science Research, University of Maryland
- David Rudovsky, Senior Fellow, Law School, University of Pennsylvania
- Vesla Weaver, Bloomberg Distinguished Associate Professor of Political Science and Sociology, Johns Hopkins
The Education System
March 2 (5PM to 6:15pm): Preschool, Elementary School, and High School
Panelists
- Vivian Gadsden, William T. Carter Professor of Child Development and Education, University of Pennsylvania
- Janel George, Senior Policy Advisor, The Learning Policy Institute
- Leah Gillion, Postdoctoral Fellow, School of Education, University of Pennsylvania
- Jessie Harper, Assistant Dean, Faculty Affairs and Diversity, School of Education, University of Pennsylvania
Open to the general public.
Register for Preschool, Elementary School, and High School
March 16 (5PM to 6:15pm): Higher Education
Panelists
- Camille Charles, Walter H. and Leonore C. Annenberg Professor, Sociology, Graduate School of Education, and the Center for Africana Studies; and faculty co-director of the Office of Penn First Plus, University of Pennsylvania
- Amalia Z. Dache, Assistant Professor, School of Education, University of Pennsylvania
- James Earl Davis, Professor, College of Education and Human Development, Temple University
- Valarie Swain-Cade McCoullum, Provost’s Distinguished Senior Fellow, Graduate School of Education;Vice Provost for Student Engagement, University of Pennsylvania
- Brian Peterson, Director of the Makuu Black Cultural Center, University of Pennsylvania
Cultural and Media Systems
March 30 (5:30PM – 6:45PM*): Voice, Representation, and Collective Memory in American Culture
Panelists
- Herman Beavers, Julie Beren Platt and Marc E. Platt President’s Distinguished Professor of English and Africana Studies, University of Pennsylvania
- Margo Natalie Crawford, Professor of English, Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Professor for Faculty Excellence, University of Pennsylvania
- Guthrie Ramsey, Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of Music, University of Pennsylvania
- Deborah Thomas, R. Jean Brownlee Professor of Anthropology; Director, Center for Experimental Ethnography, University of Pennsylvania
- Tukufu Zuberi, The Lasry Family Professor of Race Relations, Sociology Department, University of Pennsylvania
April 5 (5PM – 6:15PM): Voice, Representation and Collective Memory in Mass Media, Digital Media, and Technology
Panelists
- John Jackson, Jr., Walter H. Annenberg Dean and Richard Perry University Professor
- Sarah Jackson, Presidential Associate Professor, Annenberg School for Communication
- Matthew Miller, Provost Post-Doctoral Fellow, City and Regional Planning
- Amy Hawn Nelson, Director of Training and Technical Assistance, Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy
The Political System: Voice and Representation
April 21 (5PM – 6:15pm): Voice & Representation in American Politics
Panelists
- Traci Burch, Associate Professor of Political Science, Northwestern University
- Vincent Hutchings, Diversity and Social Transformation Professor; Hanes Walton, Jr. Collegiate Professor of Political Science and Afroamerican and African Studies, University of Michigan
- Michael Jones-Correa, President’s Distinguished Professor of Political Science; Director, Center for the Study of Ethnicity, Race and Immigration, University of Pennsylvania
- Adolph Reed, Professor Emeritus, Political Science Department, University of Pennsylvania
- Nicholas Valentino, Professor of Political Science, University of Michigan
Conclusion: The Ongoing Struggle for Racial Justice
THIS EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELED
april 28 (5PM – 6:15PM): Social Activism and Social Movements
Panelists
- Michael Dawson, John D. MacArthur Professor of Political Science, University of Chicago
- Akira Drake Rodriguez, Assistant Professor, City and Regional Planning, University of Pennsylvania
- Dan Gillion, Julie Beren Platt and Marc E. Platt Presidential Distinguished Professor of Political Science, University of Pennsylvania
- Ben Jealous, former National President & CEO of the NAACP; Visiting Scholar, Annenberg School for Communication, University of Pennsylvania