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Organization: EDUCATION DEPARTMENT
What’s wrong with the benevolent notion of “doing good”? How does trying to “help” others may reproduce colonial paternalism?
How do we reflect on our own positionalities, vulnerabilities, and privileges as we engage with communities?
How do we responsibly work with (not for) diverse communities without reproducing white supremacy, capitalism, and heteropatriarchy?
Él Martinez (they/elle) is a student activist based out of Boston, MA. Having worked in legislative, non-profit, grassroots, and public school settings, Él's wealth of experience has equipped them with a deep and complex understanding of social change and valuable interpersonal skills. Their identity as a transgender person of color informs the insights they provide and the knowledge they bring to the community.
Blue Nguyen (they/them) is a Vietnamese non-binary lesbian poet based out of Boston, MA. They are an Aries/Taurus cusp in love with liminal spaces. They have been nominated for Best of the Net Anthology and Best New Poets Anthology. They are the author of “is the sun lonely too?” zine. Their poetry can be found at The Mantle Poetry, Glass: A Journal of Poetry, and forthcoming in Protean Magazine.
Michael Illuzzi (he/him) is an associate professor of political science at Lesley University and director of the Lesley CLAS Honors Program, which has a focus on critical community engagement. His research and teaching interests include American political development and political thought, with a focus on issues of American peoplehood and racial, gender, and class inequalities.
The event will be facilitated by Nafisa Tanjeem, Associate Professor, Department of Interdisciplinary Studies, Worcester State University. It is supported by the Education, Liberal, and Interdisciplinary Studies Dean’s Office.
Please email ntanjeem@worcester.edu if you have questions.
