Session IX      (March 4 @  11:00 – 12:30)

Presenting Post-Colonial Pedagogies in an Enviroment controlled by Colonial Regimes
What happens when an instructor's presentation and information presented conflicts with patriarchal, hierarchical linear narratives of the mainstream?  Will ‘peer’ and student evaluations really support an atmosphere of true diversity?  Or will first nation and post-colonial practitioners of pedagogy be ‘individually’ penalized collectively while the structural biases of the ‘system’ go unacknowledged and unaddressed?  Come discuss and listen to real world examples of reality while we also address potential solutions.
Presenter:  James Curiel

“Beyond Beats and Rhymes:”  A  Loving Critique of Hip Hop
The film "Beyond Beats and Rhymes" provides a riveting examination of manhood, sexism, and homophobia in hip-hop culture through interviews with artists, fans, industry executives, and social critics.  Educator Robert Robinson will screen Byron Hurt's new documentary and facilitate a discussion of the complexities of hip hop.
Presenter:  Robert Robinson

A Louisiana Community's Struggle and Action for Health
“Fenceline: A Company Town Divided” features Margie Richard and Wilma Subra. The video deals with health issues faced by Norco, a small community located between two Shell petrochemical plants, and the history and deception of Shell corporation. Norco community comes together and together they win a hard victory over Shell corporation. The video will be shown and discussion about community issues and organizing will follow.
Presenters:  Ricardo Agredano, Jason Robo

LGBT 101
What better way to learn about sexual identities than to list out social norms, stereotypes, media images, rumors, jokes, and slang!  This is a safe space for any and all kinds of interactive discussions regarding Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Heterosexual identities.  This workshop is a very basic workshop introducing the concept of the social construction of gender and how gender expressions change through class, culture, and time.  This workshop is very interactive and provides a safe place for all sorts of questions regarding identity, language, sex, sexuality, and gender perception.
Presenter:  Jessica Pettitt

Transgender Health Care in 2007: It’s Time to Take it Seriously
While transgender people have existed throughout history, it has only been in the past fifty years that they have received any attention and care from the medical profession.  Only in the past few decades has clinical research demonstrated that sex reassignment therapies (SRT) are not only safe, but very effective. Despite this research and SRT becoming the standard of care throughout the world, many transgender people still lack access because many health insurers refuse to pay for treatment.  In the past decade, this has changed internationally as national health programs in Canada, the UK, the Netherlands, Italy, and others have begun to provide SRT. However in the US, most transgender people are still deprived care because private insurers continue to have transphobic exclusionary policies.  This talk will provide details of the history of transgender care, the politics and discrimination of exclusionary policies, and the possible future of transgender care under a state or national universal health care policy.
Presenter:  Nick Gorton