Twentieth International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities

Abstract

In the immediate aftermath of the public murder of George Floyd in May of 2020, academic entities scrambled to determine what they could do at a micro level to address the macro-level racial issues of systemic racism and societal inequality. At many universities (including mine), departments and academic offices took up the mantle by creating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Committees. In the fall semester of 2020, our department chair convened a DEI Committee and asked me to chair it. As I have no formal education in this form of work, I accepted the role with trepidation. Now, over one year into the endeavor, I would like to share my experiences and advice. In this paper I share the work our committee has done since its inception. I share our reading list, our website, and our carefully crafted objectives. I also share our recent events as well as the activities that are in the works in order to help us meet the stated objectives.