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d e a s
c: m i s s
i o n department of
english association of students of color university of
chicago August
1, 2005 Dear
Colleague, We
write to welcome you to the new academic year and invite you to participate
in the Department of English Association of Students of Color (DEASC). But
what, you ask, is DEASC? Founded in 1996, DEASC is an organization that
fosters a rich social and intellectual environment for students of color and
for the wider community in the English Department. As a social organization,
we sponsor gatherings that offer relief from the intensities of academic
life. This social
interaction is far from trivial.
In addition to providing much needed opportunities for good cheer, the
organization provides a forum for graduate students from all phases of their
scholastic careers to interact.
The social events provide an opportunity for students to exchange
advice and help each other navigate the institution and the career. Although
DEASC members have intellectual interests that run the gamut, the
organization is also committed to examining how the study of literature
within the department and within the discipline is shaped by race and
ethnicity. We are also concerned
about the extraordinary under-representation of students of color in the
humanities generally and at this University in particular. Consequently, one of our ongoing
projects is assisting the department in its efforts to recruit and retain
students of color. We also hope
to foster an ongoing discussion amongst ourselves and with the Division of
the Humanities about what distinguishes humanistic work on race and ethnicity
from the work done by our colleagues in the Social Sciences Division. While the work and enthusiasm of our
colleagues across the quad often sustains us and spurs our own critical
investigations, we remain committed to thinking about the humanistic
components and contributions to these areas of inquiry. In
recent years, interest in DEASC has lagged. This is unfortunate because the organization was
extraordinarily successful in the past.
The group organized film series on race films, Sidney Poitier in the
context of the Civil Rights Movement, contemporary Mexican cinema, and race
and the American musical. We
organize a symposium on race and pedagogy that brought humanists from across
the Chicagoland area to campus to reflect on what it means to be a person of
color in the classroom and what it is like in different institutional
contexts to teach about race. Perhaps most remarkably, the founding members
of the organization were ALL placed in tenure-track positions at such schools
as Brandies, Brown, Chicago, Michigan, Penn, and Yale. Please
join us and become a part of this tradition. We invite your ideas about events, symposia, and
recruitment strategies. But,
more importantly, we look forward to getting to know you. We will send a notice about an
organizational meeting early in the year. If you have any questions before then, please feel free to
contact us at the below emails. Sincerely, Stephanie
Allen Karin
Wimbley Co-chair
Co-chair |