From using satire as a means for social change to better understanding the teachings of the Haudenosaunee, and to a range of other research, initiatives and creative work, the breadth of diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility efforts across the University will be on full display during The D.E.I.A. Symposium Tuesday, Oct. 3.
At the daylong inaugural event, hosted by the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, faculty, students and staff will showcase their work through workshops, presentations and posters, representing the substantial commitment by people across campus to DEIA and the themes of the University’s DEIA Strategic Plan.
The campus community is invited to register by Monday, Sept. 25 for any number of the sessions during the symposium, being held from 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. in the Schine Student Center.
The symposium also includes a panel discussion, “Undeterred: Syracuse University’s Unique Connection to Affirmative Action and Our Next Steps.” Panelists will be Chancellor Kent D. Syverud; Vice Chancellor, Provost and Chief Academic Officer Gretchen Ritter and Senior Vice President and Chief Student Experience Officer Allen Groves. The discussion will be moderated by Associate Provost for Strategic Initiatives Marcelle Haddix.
As efforts to advance diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility are increasingly under scrutiny in higher education, the symposium is a way to illuminate the continuing efforts of the campus to cultivate a campus that is welcoming and inclusive to all.
“The D.E.I.A. Symposium leverages the University’s history of inclusion as a guiding principle for our current day commitment to inclusive excellence,” says Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion Mary Grace A. Almandrez. “Now more than ever, it is critical that we advance DEIA work and illuminate the scholarly aspects that faculty, staff and students bring to its efforts and outcomes.”
Charisse L’Pree Corsbie-Massay, associate professor of communications in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, is presenting at the symposium, as part of a larger presentation: “Mitigating the Racial Wealth Gap in the United States: Multi-Disciplinary Perspectives and the Potential Impact of Collaborative Approaches by Faculty, Staff and Students.”
The Lender Center for Social Justice is engaging with multi-disciplinary faculty and approaches to address factors contributing to and/or mitigating the racial wealth gap in the United States. The symposium presentation brings together scholars from the academic disciplines of management, African American studies, architecture, communications, and writing and rhetoric to illustrate multi-level and multi stakeholder approaches that inform policies and interventions to lessen the racial wealth gap.
L’Pree Corsbie-Massay, along with Luvell Anderson, associate professor of philosophy, College of Arts and Sciences, will present on “Laughing at the Racial Wealth Gap: Analyzing Effective Satire.”
“The racial wealth gap represents centuries of discriminatory policies which baffle Americans,” L’Pree Corsbie-Massay says. “Satire and comedy deconstruct and demystify difficult social phenomena but the collective confusion around the racial wealth gap makes this uniquely difficult. This—coupled with satire’s propensity for misinterpretation—means that laughing is not the same as learning.”
The two explore how the racial wealth gap has been represented in three different forms, spanning four decades: “Trading Places” (1983), “Reparations” (“Chappelle’s Show,” 2003), and “The Big Payback” (“Atlanta,” 2022), and describe when and how satire can be an effective tool of social change.
“The racial wealth gap is one of those problems that is so big that we as individuals (as scholars and citizens) have a tough time getting our head around it,” says L’Pree Corsbie-Massay, the author of “Diversity and Satire: Laughing at Processes of Marginalization.” “It is exciting to present with so many different perspectives about this issue that anyone can find different ways for them to get involved because there are so many entry points, including satire.”
As one of the presenters during the “lightning round,” Diane Schenandoah ’11, Honwadiyenawa’sek (“One who helps them”), will offer insight into the Haudenosaunee culture through the short video, “Where are your feet.” The video was produced by Access Audio, a storytelling initiative from the Special Collections Research Center at Syracuse University Libraries, in collaboration with Jim O’Connor, Andy Robinson, Neal Powless, Michelle Schenandoah and Diane Schenandoah.
“This video is an important piece to help students, faculty and staff understand the lands where Syracuse University was built—we are in the capitol of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy and Onondaga Nation homelands,” says Diane Schenandoah. “It is sacred, alive and precious; viewed this way, the land is our relative and not a resource.”
Schenandoah hopes there is a “flash” during the lightning round presentation that will spark inquiry and insight into shared history.
“As a faithkeeper of the Wolf Clan, from the Oneida Nation, it is part of my duty to share our teachings of how-to live-in peace,” Schenandoah says. “This is the birthplace of democracy, and I feel it is so important to share some of these teachings.”
The variety and depth of DEIA work on campus was important for the symposium organizers to be able to represent.
“Because we are always striving to create a better campus environment for our students, staff and faculty, there is a tendency to focus only on the areas that need improvement, which can feel like the glass is half empty,” says Kamala Ramadoss, associate professor in the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics and a member of the symposium’s organizing committee. “While that is important, it is equally critical to periodically take stock of the progress being made and celebrate successful initiatives that strive to create a better campus culture for everyone. This symposium is an invitation to the attendees to learn about these initiatives that are working and to engage in conversations on how we can further improve the same.”
The D.E.I.A. Symposium, co-chaired by Suzette M. Meléndez and Christina Papaleo, is co-sponsored by the Center on Disability and Inclusion, the College of Professional Studies, Hendricks Chapel, the Office of Faculty Affairs and the Martin J. Whitman School of Management.
Those interested in assisting with the symposium can volunteer to help with a variety of activities.
