This event on March 14 at 1:15-2:15 pm MT, is free and open to language faculty worldwide and those interested in learning more about this topic.

In their work together as co-educators, Drs. Peña and Frazier-Rath are rethinking what it means to teach Black German Studies – and perhaps even the humanities more generally – in their undergraduate courses at Davidson College, a primarily white institution (PWI) and liberal arts college in the South. Black German Art and Resistance, taught in English, and Race, Gender, Migration, taught in German, are both community-based learning classes, as students’ work supports the Black German Heritage and Research Association (BGHRA), founded by Dr. Peña to “document[t] and suppor[t] the activities of Black Germans internationally and promot[e] scholarship relating to the historic and contemporary presence of Black people in Germany, Black Germans in the United States, and beyond”. The courses are built around conversations led by students with people whose lives and work intersect with, influence, shape, and inform Black German Studies. With their students’ consent, the recordings of these rich discussions are made available for free to the general public on the BGHRA YouTube page. Everything in their courses is designed to help students build the skills necessary to live in connected, responsible, and self-reflective ways. A featured student project from last semester can be found on the BGHRA website.

In this workshop, Drs. Peña and Frazier-Rath will discuss their experiences co-teaching these courses, and highlight the ways we can all incorporate the values of collaboration, transparency, and accessibility into our classrooms and curriculums, to work against institutions that work against us, and center people in everything we do.

Presenters

Dr. Rosemarie Peña (she/her/hers) is the founder and president of the Black German Heritage and Research Association (BGHRA) and Adjunct Professor of German in the Department of Central, Eastern, & Northern European Studies at the University of British Columbia.

Dr. Emily Frazier-Rath (she/her/hers), a 2019 CU Alum, is the Executive Director of the BGHRA Institute, Visiting Assistant Professor of German Studies at Davidson College and a Lecturer of German with ALTEC at CU Boulder.