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  2. EDU H619

Identity, Power, Justice and Education: Core Convenings
EDU H619

Course Information

Description

This convening is only open to students who have declared the IPJE concentration. The Identity, Power, and Justice in Education (IPJE) Concentration aims to support students across programs who want to leverage their time at HGSE to gain knowledge and skills to disrupt oppressive structures, disrupt oppressive structures and imagine or recreate more liberatory spaces for learning. In service of this goal, each IPJE community member will be asked to map and document their learning across five domains: know and love self; know and love others; commit to historical and structural analysis; interrupt, innovate, imagine; and be love. These domains -- rooted in Critical Theory and Critical Pedagogy -- reflect core concepts that undergird justice-based work across the globe. 

The IPJE convening is one of the requirements for the Identity, Power, Justice, and Education concentration. The core convening seeks to meet three specific objectives: (1) to provide a space for students in the concentration to reflect on the role of the core concepts above in critically-oriented social justice work, (2) to help IPJE concentrators build relationships with each other through their commitment to centering social justice in their present and future work, and (3) to provide space for peer learning and teaching, reflection, and community accountability to our shared commitments. Each month, we will focus on one core concept from our guiding frameworks: Identity (Know & Love Yourself, Know Others), Power (Historical and Structural Analysis) and Justice (Interrupt, Innovate, Imagine & Be Love). 

For each concept, we come together as a whole group to investigate and explore the concept, as well as in small groups to discuss the readings and apply the ideas to our own work.

The IPJE convening will meet in the Fall on Mondays from 4:30-7:15pm, and Wednesdays from 12-1:15pm. (NOTE: We will not meet every week; a schedule of meetings dates will be added to this description in August.) This time will include a mix of large and small group meetings, interacting with texts, attending events, and personal reflection. IPJE community members should also expect to spend 2-3 hours per week on asynchronous work related to the core convenings.

School Graduate School of Education
Credits 2
Cross Reg

Not Available for Cross Registration

Department Education
Course Component Regular Course
Instruction Mode In Person
Subject Education
Grading Basis HGSE Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory
Course Requirements Sub plan must be IPJE
Learning Goals The IPJE concentration is rooted in Critical Theory, a school of thought which emphasizes that working towards justice requires: -Deep expertise and a breadth of content knowledge about the historical and sociopolitical factors and power dynamics that shape and sustain systemic oppression. -A consistent commitment to self-interrogation and processes for self-accountability. -A range of skills (i.e. facilitation, collaborative, and participatory engagement) for disruption and creating. -Courage to envision a world that we have not yet seen and to withstand the resistance that comes with trying to disrupt and rebuild long-standing hegemonic structures. ‘ Drawing on the above ideas, the IPJE concentration learning journey is built around five learning domains, (1) know and love self, (2) know and love others, (3) commit to an historical and structural analysis, (4) interrupt, innovate, and imagine, and (5) be love. The core convening is an opportunity to be introduced to these broad learning domains and engage in small group application of these concepts in a specific context (e.g., role, developmental age, geography, culture, etc.).
Career Focus <p>As the core convening for IPJE, this space is designed to serve students across programs who want to actively challenge and disrupt different forms of oppression in education as a part of their current and future work. As a concentration, IPJE is set up to provide a framework through which students can shape and process their HGSE experiences. Through coursework, extra-curricular activities, and convenings, IPJE students will be encouraged to explore critical theories that provide frameworks for analyzing oppression across multiple identities, develop key dispositions for holding space on topics of injustice, and build capacity to create education spaces that aim to eliminate oppressive conditions and inequitable outcomes. <br /><br />As a student in IPJE, you should be prepared to think carefully about your social identities and lived experiences, both through personal reflection and in community with others. This concentration is intended as a community of practice and accountability for those committed to advocating for justice in education, regardless of their future role. <br /><br />We anticipate that graduates may play several different roles in schools, community-based organizations, institutions of higher education, or government agencies. What will set you apart in the field is your explicit commitment to diagnosing and addressing issues of equity, injustice, identity, and power.</p>