This symposium will explore hate, its effects, and what can be done to resist it. Speakers include undergraduate students, graduate students, faculty, and staff who will address the issues through three interlocking panels: (1) definitions of hate, hate crime, hate speech, and hate groups, including legal definitions and common applications (in the media, in our communities, on our campus, etc.), and the limitations of a strictly legal understanding of hate; (2) the effects of hate, including ways in which people become vulnerable and the kinds of harm they experience, and how intersecting categories of identity inform people's experiences of vulnerability and harm in different ways; (3) collective activism and turning vulnerabilities into strengths in order to minimize harm and fight hate. This panel will look specifically at OSU StandYourGround and what it was able to accomplish, what were some of the problems, and what actions can be taken now to organize and mobilize the Ohio State campus community. A pamphlet with organizational strategies will be produced for audience members to take away.
A light dinner also will be served.
For more information or to request accessibility accommodations, please contact disco@osu.edu. This symposium is a part of a series of events on hate, vulnerability, harm, and collective resistance that the Diversity and Identity Studies Collective at OSU (DISCO) is sponsoring this year: disco.osu.edu/
The DISCO Graduate Caucus is the lead organizer of the event. Co-sponsored by DISCO, the DISCO Working Group of the Humanities Institute, and the Council of Graduate Students.
Preliminary Schedule of Events:
4-4:10 pm refreshments
4:10-5:20 pm Panel 1
Parsing "Hate": Defining the Overt and the Covert
This panel will explore different definitions and representations of hate, hate speech, hate crime and hate group. We will look at how the law understands these terms, while also examining the limitations of strictly legalistic notions/definitions. Finally, we will talk about representations of hate in the media and popular culture, microaggression as a form of harm, and the trauma that often results from these varied kinds of vulnerability.
Panelists:
- Terrell Strayhorn, associate professor, School of Educational Policy and Leadership, senior research associate, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race & Ethnicity, Ohio State Moritz College of Law Student
- Joe Ponce, associate professor, Department of English
- Jian Chen, assistant professor, Department of English
- Bowen Marshall, graduate student, Higher Education and Student Affairs and Graduate Administrative Associate, OSU Student Life
- Chris Sanders, undergraduate, Asian American Student Association
Moderator: Danielle Olden, graduate student, Department of History; president, DISCO Graduate Caucus
5:20-5:30 pm Break
5:30-6:40 pm Panel 2
Intersecting Vulnerabilities: Harm Across Diverse Experiences
The second panel will look at vulnerability and harm, exploring the various kinds of vulnerabilities people face, the multiple ways in which people's identities inform their vulnerability, and the harms and traumas that are often inflicted as a result of these vulnerabilities.
Panelists:
- Debra Moddelmog, professor of English; co-director, Sexuality Studies Program; co-organizer and director, Diversity and Identity Studies Collective at Ohio State University (DISCO)
- Brieanne Billman, coordinator for Sexual Violence and Education Support, Student Wellness Center, Office of Student Life, OSU Alumna
- Balpreet Kaur ,undergraduate; president, Sikh Student Association
- Gisell Jeter, graduate student, Department of History; president, Colorful Women in the Academy
- Paul Velasquez, president of UNITY: An Alliance of Students With and Without Disabilities
Moderator: Judy Tzu-Chun Wu, associate professor of History and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; coordinator , Asian American Studies Program; co-organizer, DISCO
6:40-6:50 pm Break / dinners served
6:50-8 pm Panel 3
Fighting Back: Organizing Against Hate, Vulnerability, and Harm
The third panel will pose a consideration of how we might combat hate and the systems of oppression that reinforce vulnerability and cause harm, grappling with a series of questions: How can we support each other in our shared vulnerabilities and across different markers of difference? How can we create a safe environment where harm is minimized and our vulnerabilities become strengths? What sorts of collective action are available to attendees? How can academic expertise and public discourses join to educate, build coalitions, and create more safe, inclusive, and socially just spaces?
Panelists:
- Leslie Alexander, associate professor, Department of African and Africana Studies
- Dawn Miles, graduate student, Department of History; leader, OSU StandYourGround
- Rashida Davison, Ohio State alumna; community activist; leader, OSU StandYourGround
Moderator: Annabelle Estera, graduate student, Higher Education and Student Affairs; graduate administrative associate, Student Life
