Opening The Blinds: Talking race, sex and class at UT Austin:

Opening The Blinds: Talking race, sex and class at UT Austin:

What: Academic Panel Presentation

When: Tuesday, October 30

Time: 10:00 a.m. – Noon

Where: BUR 214

While college is sold to everyone as the key to a better life, it can often be a violent experience for students who do not fit neatly in our imagined community. The interactions between students of color, female students, and low SES students with their peers, professors, TAs, and UT staff are filled with messages that question their right to be here. This is because the UT community negotiates their integration into a campus that has been shaped by whiteness, heteropatriarchy, and middle-class values. The recent bleach-bombings of students of color in West Campus, the race-themed Greek parties, and the Fisher versus Texas case are all examples of resistance to the presence of students who do not fit the imagined white, male-centered and middle-class college campus.

As a response to these recent developments, the Sociology Department at The University of Texas at Austin invites you to a panel presentation and discussion to promote an understanding of issues of race, sex/gender and class at UT Austin. Through an interdisciplinary and intersectional lens, the presenters will provide much needed perspectives to contextualize the eruption of racial, gender and class violence on campus. Come participate in the conversation and help us answer: What can we learn from the experiences of students of color, female students, and working class students on campus? Why do we experience microaggressions along the lines of race, gender and class? What can scholars and members of the UT community do to transform the campus racial, gender and class climate?

Panelists:

• Marleen Villanueva, Spanish, WGS and NAISA Senior, member of La Colectiva Femenil
• Marianna Anaya, Mexican American Studies Senior, member of La Colectiva Femenil
• Juan Portillo, PhD Student in Sociology
• Ganiva Reyes, PhD Student in Cultural Studies in Education
• Rocio Villalobos, MA, Cultural Studies in Education, UT Alum and Program Coordinator for the Multicultural Engagement Center

Moderator: Dr. Christine Williams, Chair of Sociology