The Work That Is “Diversity Work”
Conference Strand
Social Change, Leadership, and Advocacy
Abstract
In her 2012 book, On Being Included, Sara Ahmed asks: What does diversity do? What are we doing when we use the language of diversity? Indeed, calls for decolonization, equity, inclusion, and diversity in curricula are increasing. What is the/should be the work that is diversity work? Holding a light to these terms, and informed by critical theories in psychology, diversity studies, and related disciplines, I will call attention to the tensions between romanticized conceptions of the term and the complicated realities of difference through an autoethnographic account of my work as a SUNY Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice Fellow and as a Chair of the interdisciplinary Program of Global Black Studies. I hope this presentation offers epistemic openings for new imaginations for diversity pedagogies and concerns for justice, more broadly
Evidence
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Format
Individual Presentations
Biographical Sketch
Dr. Krystal M. Perkins Dr. Krystal M. Perkins (she, her, hers) is an Associate Professor of Psychology and chairs the interdisciplinary program of Global Black Studies at the State University of New York (SUNY) at Purchase. She is also an Affiliated Faculty in the Critical Social/Personality Psychology Doctoral Program at the Graduate Center, City University of New York (CUNY) and a SUNY Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Social Justice Fellow for 2023-2024. Krystal is a social psychologist by training with a background in classic and critical theories as well as quantitative and qualitative methods. In various projects, Krystal explores minority/ized subjectivities, not grounded in an implicit deficient model, but minorities/tized subjectivities as complex and multifaceted, negotiating histories-nation-ideologies-identities, etc. Her research also considers constructions and discursive contexts of racialized/nationalist/diversity discourses, critical sustainability/environmental justice, and the intersection of collective memory, Black identity, and Black radical/liberation movements. More broadly, Krystal draws from psychological theory and research for doing counter-storytelling work. Krystal received my PhD in Social/Personality Psychology from the Graduate Center, City University of New York.
Start Date
3-8-2024 8:20 AM
Recommended Citation
Perkins, Krystal, "The Work That Is “Diversity Work”" (2024). National Cross-Cultural Counseling and Education Conference for Research, Action, and Change. 18.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/ccec/2024/2024/18
The Work That Is “Diversity Work”
In her 2012 book, On Being Included, Sara Ahmed asks: What does diversity do? What are we doing when we use the language of diversity? Indeed, calls for decolonization, equity, inclusion, and diversity in curricula are increasing. What is the/should be the work that is diversity work? Holding a light to these terms, and informed by critical theories in psychology, diversity studies, and related disciplines, I will call attention to the tensions between romanticized conceptions of the term and the complicated realities of difference through an autoethnographic account of my work as a SUNY Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Social Justice Fellow and as a Chair of the interdisciplinary Program of Global Black Studies. I hope this presentation offers epistemic openings for new imaginations for diversity pedagogies and concerns for justice, more broadly
Description
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