Skip to content
CIRGE

Category: Presentations and Workshops

Doctoral education in social science and the meanings of social justice

Dr. Carolina Guzmán-Valenzuela, director of the PhD in Education at the Universidad de Tarapacá (Chile) and Dr. Patrick Sachew, dean of the Bremen International Graduate School in Social Science (Germany) shared their experiences on how their specific context shaped their practices.

Carolina explained that the deep inequalities of the Chilean higher education system, manifested in the high centralization of the country and big difference between rich and poor, have been determinant in the design of the doctoral program.

“The Universidad de Tarapacá” is located in a border zone, 2000 kilometers away from Santiago, close to the limit of Perú and Bolivia, where there is in an important percentage of immigrant people and indigenous Aymara people. Our doctoral program in Education is new and the only one located in the north of Chile, as such, we have put great emphasis in launching a research line that is relevant for the region”.

Patrick discussed that in the context of Germany, different trajectories by class continued being relevant

Webinar: The meanings of social justice in practice when one theorizes and teaches in social sciences

This webinar is part of the series “Committing ourselves to social justice: The role of doctoral education in complex times”

When: Monday 29th of November

Time: 1:00 pm Chile | 5:00 pm Germany  | 8:00 am Pacific Time

Register here

Social sciences include a variety of disciplines and sub-discipline: Anthropology, communication studies, economics, sociology, psychology, political sciences, psychology, geography, to name a few. Each of them offers epistemologies, methodologies and approaches to raise questions about social economic inequality, distribution of power and rights among different social actors, and the role of social institutions to interrupt or reproduce injustice. Yet, what is less talked about is how social scientists, in their individual spaces, make choices and activities associated with the role of teaching, doing research, mentoring and participating in community projects within the structure of doctoral education.

In the fifth webinar of the series “Committing ourselves to Social Justice: Doctoral Education for Complex Times”, CIRGE has invited two scholars – Carolina Guzman-Valenzuela from Chile and Peter Sachweh from Germany – to share how they theorize and practice social justice in their specific academic spaces within their doctoral education ecosystem.

Speakers

Carolina Guzmán-Valenzuela is a professor of Higher Education at the University of Tarapacá (Chile). Her research agenda includes the study of university teaching-learning processes, academic identities and the role of universities in neoliberal contexts. Currently, she is leading a project that analyses the effects of colonial legacies on the knowledge production of social sciences and humanities in Latin America.

Patrick Sachweh is a professor and dean of the Bremen International Graduate School in Social Sciences (BIGSSS) at the University of Bremen (Germany). His most recent research interrogates how social narratives about the causes and consequences of the economic crisis resulting from the Coronavirus pandemic are negotiated in the German and Italian public debates.

Learn more about the series  “Committing ourselves to Social Justice: Doctoral Education for Complex Times”. 

Webinar: The Habitable City. Centering Climate Justice in Research-Based Education

©Foto de Negocios creado por rawpixel.com – www.freepik.es

When: January 26th 2020

Time: 9:30 am Pacific Time | 2:30 pm Brazil | 7:30 pm South Africa

Register here

The Habitable City. Centering Climate Justice in Research-Based Education

With a few notable exceptions, researchers in the field of ecology and environmental sciences struggle with deeply engaging communities in research efforts. Nowhere are such struggles more apparent than in cities, where traditional research-based models present authoritative narratives that emphasize scientific applications that overlook social and cultural dimensions of the places we inhabit. While laudable, such approaches can reflect an ‘ecological supremacy’ ideology that pits the ascendancy of ecologically sound applications against a community’s needs and preferences.

In this presentation, Dr. Shandas and Nascimiento argue that issues of procedural justice, specifically in the field of urban forestry, require further development. Recentering disinvested communities will require advancing programs of urban ecological restoration through restructuring municipal policies that aim to increase the sharing of resources and power to community groups. Co-producing urban ecological research with local community groups offers a promising opportunity that can dismantle notions and practices of ecological supremacy; ushering in an era where communities can begin to rebuild trust with municipal agencies with clear understandings about co-ownership and shared authority and do this already during doctoral education”

Speakers

Lorena Nascimento is a Ph.D. candidate in Urban Studies at Portland State University and a GIS instructor at Portland Community College. She has been working with local nonprofits and public administration agencies in environmental education, community-based learning, urban mobility, policy review, and urban forestry projects in Portland, Oregon, USA. She participates in the City of Portland Parks Board, the Urban Forestry Commission, and Urban Greenspaces Institute as a board member. Lorena enjoys swimming, writing for blogs, gardening, and practicing plant identification in her free time.

 

Vivek Shandas is a Professor of Climate Adaptation and Director of the Sustaining Urban Places Research (SUPR) Lab at Portland State University. By examining the assumptions about our built environment, Dr.Shandas supports historically disinvested and marginalized communities in improving their adaptation from climate stressors, including extreme events such as urban heat, air quality, and storms. He has published over 100 articles, three books, and his research has been featured in the NYTimes, National Geographic, Scientific American, and dozens of other national and local media. Dr.Shandas serves as Chair of the City of Portland’s Urban Forestry Commission, and serves on several local and national advisory boards.

 

Learn more about the series  “Committing ourselves to Social Justice: Doctoral Education for Complex Times”. 

Beyond Theory: Practicing social justice in the design & implementation of doctoral programs in education

More than one hundred attendees participated in the last webinar “Beyond theory: Practicing social justice in the design & implementation of doctoral programs in education” last July 28th of 2020. This event is part of the series “Committing ourselves  to social justice: Doctoral Education for Complex Times”, organized by CIRGE and co-sponsored by the Center for Studies of Higher Education of University of California, Berkeley. The two speakers – Professor Barbara Grant from University of Auckland (New Zealand) and professor Sioux McKenna from Rhodes University (South Africa)- provided concrete examples of what it means to design and implement a doctoral program inspired in social justice”, relying on their respective context.

See the webinar here.

If  you want to know more about the series, please email rox.chiappa@ru.ac.za

Why this webinar?

At times where the racial, class, and gender inequalities are deeply felt in many of our countries, doctoral education is not exempted from the public scrutiny, which is asking to disrupt the pivotal forces that (re)produce social injustices.  Being the most advanced degree of education and a critical contributor of knowledge production and technological systems, doctoral education has access to individuals and institutions that are in positions of authority in different nations, and consequently,  an extra responsibility to reveal and question the mechanisms of oppression that affect disenfranchised communities.

In this webinar,  professors Barbara Grant from Auckland University (New Zealand) and Sioux McKenna from Rhodes University  (South Africa) will discuss the vision that inspire them and their teams to launch doctoral programs in education with focus in equity social justice in their respective countries.  The question for them (and for us) is what does it take to design and implement a doctoral program inspired in social justice?

Speakers

Barbara Grant is an associate professor at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. She is currently exploring doctoral students’ experiences of publishing during candidature, doctoral identity work in thesis acknowledgments, and doctoral supervision work of academic women in NZ universities.

 

 

Sioux McKenna  is a professor at Rhodes University in South Africa. She is the current director of the Center of Postgraduate Studies and the director of the doctoral program in Social Justice and Quality in Higher Education, which is one of the few doctoral programs in education in the countries that has a course-work structure.

See more about the series

 

Beyond Theory: Practicing social justice in the design & implementation of doctoral programs in education

Registration here

When: 

(updated schedule)

July 29th, 6:00 am, New Zealand

July 28th, 8:00 pm, South Africa

July 28th, 11:00 am, Pacific Time

Duration: 90 minutes

At times where the racial, class, and gender inequalities are deeply felt in many of our countries, doctoral education is not exempted from the public scrutiny, which is asking to disrupt the pivotal forces that (re)produce social injustices.  Being the most advanced degree of education and a critical contributor of knowledge production and technological systems, doctoral education has access to individuals and institutions that are in positions of authority in different nations, and consequently,  an extra responsibility to reveal and question the mechanisms of oppression that affect disenfranchised communities.

In this webinar,  professors Barbara Grant from Auckland University (New Zealand) and Sioux McKenna from Rhodes University  (South Africa) will discuss the vision that inspire them and their teams to launch doctoral programs in education with focus in equity social justice in their respective countries.  The question for them (and for us) is what does it take to design and implement a doctoral program inspired in social justice?

Speakers

Barbara Grant is an associate professor at the University of Auckland in New Zealand. She is currently exploring doctoral students’ experiences of publishing during candidature, doctoral identity work in thesis acknowledgments, and doctoral supervision work of academic women in NZ universities.

 

 

Sioux McKenna  is a professor at Rhodes University in South Africa. She is the current director of the Center of Postgraduate Studies and the director of the doctoral program in Social Justice and Quality in Higher Education, which is one of the few doctoral programs in education in the countries that has a course-work structure.

 

 

This event is part of the CIRGE series: Committing ourselves to Social Justice: Doctoral Education for Complex Times

Organize: Center for Innovation and Research in Graduate Education (CIRGE)

Co-sponsor: Center for Studies in Higher Education, University of California, Berkeley (CSHE)

Practicing Social Justice in Engineering & Physical Science

CIRGE and the Center for Studies in Higher Education (CSHE) of UC Berkeley co-sponsored  the second version of the series “Committing ourselves to Social Justice: Doctoral Education for Complex Times” . Colette Patt, the Science Diversity Programs director at the UC Berkeley; and Khalid Kadir, lecturer in the college of engineering at the same institution, shared how they practice social justice in their respective professional arenas.

Watch the webinar here

Colette Patt’s presentation

Khalid Kadir’s presentation

 

Learn more about the series: Committing ourselves to Social Justice: Doctoral Education for Complex Times

In times of rising nationalist governments, environmental crisis, hate speech and acts against marginalized communities, the intellectual drivers and engaged community of doctoral education, have a responsibility to question the norms and values that cause inequality and exclusion in society at the local, national, and global levels.

Doctoral education is the most advanced level of education that individuals can achieve and one of the spaces where different types of knowledge are discovered, passed on from one generation of scholars to the next, and re-interpreted in the process. These functions give doctoral education unique access to individuals and institutions that are in positions of authority in different nations, and consequently, an extra responsibility to work toward democracy, inclusion, diversity, and equity; in short, social justice.

Interested in getting involved in the series, email rox.chiappa@ru.ac.za

Past seminars

 

Practicing social justice during doctoral education: Insights from physical sciences & engineering

Day: April 1st, 2020

Time: 9:30 a.m. (Pacific Time)

Where: https://berkeley.zoom.us/j/5665040916

Registration here

Six months ago, when we were preparing the first talk of this series, we all agreed that doctorate education needed to prepare the new generation of scholars to address increasingly unpredictable futures. Yet,  none of us anticipated that such unprecedented futures could surprise us so suddenly .
How do we teach at the doctoral level, how do we create environments that support all doctoral students/candidates in challenging times are some of the questions that we will address in our next session.

Speakers

Colette Patt is the Science Diversity Programs director at the University of California, Berkeley. Her work focuses on increasing the diversity of the undergraduate, graduate and post-doctoral populations in STEM fields and enhancing the long-term success in academia of people historically underrepresented in these fields. Her current research focuses on retention and advancement of students in science doctoral programs. Dr. Patt also directs Berkeley’s National Science Foundation-UC Alliance for Graduate Alliance (NSF-AGEP) and The Berkeley Edge Program (BEP).
Khalid Kadir is a Continuing Lecturer at UC Berkeley, teaching courses in the Global Poverty & Practice (GPP) program, Political Economy, and the College of Engineering. After completing his PhD in Environmental Engineering at UC Berkeley, Khalid focused his research on the complex role that engineering expertise plays in the politics of international development and poverty alleviation, and his current work focuses on the intersection of poverty, expertise, and politics. He is a recipient of the 2017 Distinguished Teaching Award, UC Berkeley’s most prestigious honor for teaching.

Why is important to talk about social justice in doctoral education?

With the goal to make visible the role that doctoral education plays in questioning systems of exclusion and inequality, the Center for Innovation and Research in Graduate Education (CIRGE) is inviting scholars across the world to participate in the CIRGE life lecture and webinar Series “Committing Ourselves to Social Justice: Doctoral Education for Complex Times.” This series aims to provide doctoral students, instructors, departments and funders of doctoral education, a better understanding of the structures, practices, and pedagogies that would need to be addressed in different disciplines and organizations, to be more inclusive, embrace diversity and equity. CIRGE acknowledges that the meaning of social justice is tied to specific political and cultural contexts. Rather than starting with a (single) definition of the term, the CIRGE series will begin with an open investigation of what “social justice” does and would look like for various academic disciplines and university communities across the world.

Learn more about the Series Committing Ourselves to Social Justice: Doctoral Education for Complex Times

Email  to rox.chiappa@ru.ac.za

This session is organized by CIRGE and the Center for Studies in Higher Education – UC Berkeley

CIRGE hosted the first Webinar of the Series “Committing ourselves to Social Justice: Doctoral Education for Complex Times”

 

Dr. Amy Scott Metcalfe (University of British Columbia) invited us to question the possibilities of the promise of social justice in the current higher education scenario, rooted in colonial relationships. She explains “The title of my talk, “Viewing the landscape of doctoral education against the horizon of policy: Placing ourselves in the academic arboretum,” emphasizes educational purpose and place, but also the colonial underpinnings of Western science. The “horizon of policy” references the spatializing sensibility of being located in a particular spot and turning around to view the encircling horizon. This is a planetary standpoint. The metaphor of a 360 degree “policy horizon” takes into consideration that we must move our entire beings to realize what is all around us, instead of facing in one direction and only seeing what is straight ahead.

Check the video of her talk and text here

More about the webinar

The webinar gathered around 50 people of all over the world interested in discussing how doctorate education plays a role in questioning and making visible the structures of oppression in society.

Why CIRGE is talking about social justice in Doctorate Education?

Doctoral education is the most advanced level of education that individuals can achieve and one of the spaces where different types of knowledge are discovered, passed on from one generation of scholars to the next, and re-interpreted in the process. These functions give doctoral education unique access to individuals and institutions that are in positions of authority in different nations, and consequently, an extra responsibility to work toward democracy, inclusion, diversity, and equity; in short, social justice.

Interested in getting involved?

Email Roxana Chiappa – rox.chiappa@ru.ac.za

Learn more about CIRGE webinar series Committing Ourselves to Social Justice: Doctoral Education for Complex Times 

Committing Ourselves to Social Justice: Doctoral Education for Complex Times

A series of web-seminars organized by the Center for Innovation and Research in Graduate Education (CIRGE) and co-sponsored by the Center for Studies  in Higher Education, Berkeley.

In times of rising nationalist governments, environmental crisis, hate speech and acts against marginalized communities, the intellectual drivers and engaged community of doctoral education, have a responsibility to question the norms and values that cause inequality and exclusion in society at the local, national, and global levels.

Doctoral education is the most advanced level of education that individuals can achieve and one of the spaces where different types of knowledge are discovered, passed on from one generation of scholars to the next, and re-interpreted in the process. These functions give doctoral education unique access to individuals and institutions that are in positions of authority in different nations, and consequently, an extra responsibility to work toward democracy, inclusion, diversity, and equity; in short, social justice.

Actors and institutions involved in doctoral education are called to reveal and question the pivotal forces underlying manifestations of injustices through the multiple processes of research, teaching, and interactions with different social communities.

With the goal to make visible the role that doctoral education plays in questioning systems of exclusion and inequality, the Center for Innovation and Research in Graduate Education (CIRGE) is inviting scholars across the world to participate in the CIRGE life lecture and webinar Series “Committing Ourselves to Social Justice: Doctoral Education for Complex Times.” This series aims to provide doctoral students, instructors, departments and funders of doctoral education, a better understanding of the structures, practices, and pedagogies that would need to be addressed in different disciplines and organizations, to be more inclusive, embrace diversity and equity.

CIRGE acknowledges that the meaning of social justice is tied to specific political and cultural contexts. Rather than starting with a (single) definition of the term, the CIRGE series will begin with an open investigation of what “social justice” does and would look like for various academic disciplines and university communities across the world.

Some topics the series will speak to:

  • What are the institutional and disciplinary structures that need to be addressed in doctoral education to make visible its commitment to social justice?
  • What possibilities and limits exist in your institution to maintaining social justice?
  • What is known about issues of access, retention, and graduation rates in doctoral education across different populations and in different countries?
  • Whose knowledge counts in doctoral education? Who benefits from the knowledges discovered?

Interested in presented in the web-seminar series in the future:

Please contact Roxana Chiappa | rox.chiappa@ru.ac.za (Lecturer at Rhodes University)

Series