The School of Physical Sciences journal club on Anti-racism and Inclusion meet every month. The objective of these meetings is to create an open dialogue across the school focused on journal articles, books, podcasts or other media that address inequalities in STEM and society or other relevant diversity, equity and inclusion related topics. Our hope is that by engaging in critical conversations that spark reflection and action, we can work together to create a more equitable, inclusive and anti-racist environment within the School of Physical Sciences.
If you are interested in volunteering to lead a future discussion or have suggestions for reading materials, please submit the interest form. Everyone (including undergrad, grad, postdocs/research scientists, staff and faculty) is invited and welcome to lead or participate in these important discussions.
If you have any questions, please contact aoi@ps.uci.edu.
Schedule of Upcoming Sessions
2022/5/20, Friday 3-4pm Pacific Time
Amy Ralston and Anne-Katherine Burns, Graduate Students in Physics & Astronomy
Women are creating a new culture for Astronomy: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/women-are-creating-a-new-culture-for-astronomy/ – please note that while the article is focused on the Astronomy field, the discussion will be broad and focused on underrepresented groups in STEM.
Discussion Questions:
1. Did any of the experiences shared in the article resonate with you? Why?
2. Why is representation of minoritized groups important in physics and/or STEM? Does the representation of one minoritized group improve the experience of other minoritized groups?
3. How do power dynamics within the academic structure affect the experience of women and other minoritized groups? Do professors who are women have a responsibility to affect change? As people in minoritized groups move up in the power structure, does their experience get harder or easier?
4. Many women in physics and astronomy have been told that in order to be taken seriously, they must alter their communication style. I.e. Changing stereotypical feminine phrasing in a question such as, “If you have the time and energy to do so, would you be willing to read and comment on my draft, please?” to the stereotypically masculine phrasing, “What do you think of my draft?” Why have so many women been asked to change in this way? What is it about this communication style that causes people to be seen as less than? Is it ethical to ask those who communicate in this way to change?
Past Sessions
2022/4/8, Friday 3-4pm Pacific Time
Tatsuro Tanioka, Ph.D. | Simons Postdoctoral Fellow in Marine Microbial Ecology
Intersectional inequalities in science: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2113067119
Discussion Questions:
- Do you think there are discipline-specific racial/gender imbalances in physical science like shown here for social and human science? If so, which particular topics and research areas?
- Why do you think Asian women’s demographics are very different from Black, Latinx, and White women?
- Regarding policy recommendation #1: allocate more funding to areas where gendered and racially minoritized authors are currently more present (e.g., nursing). How would this policy impact gender/racial representation in physical science where gendered and racially minoritized authors are currently less present?
2021/10/29, Friday 3-4pm Pacific Time
Professor Mu-Chun Chen, Physics and Astronomy, Associate Dean for DEI, and Kara Ward, Program Coordinator for the Office of Access, Outreach and Inclusion
For the first meeting of the year, we will focus our discussion on current diversity, equity and inclusion efforts within the School of Physical Sciences in order to gather feedback on what’s going well, gaps and areas of improvement. Discussion questions will be sent prior to the event.
2021/2/26, Friday 3pm Pacific Time
Moises Romero and Ali Younis, Graduate Students, Chemistry Department
Ali and Moises will lead the discussion based on the following NPR podcast, Milliken v. Bradley, centered on the issue of School Segregation and Busing.
https://www.npr.org/2019/07/24/744884767/milliken-v-bradley (36 min)
Transcript: https://www.npr.org/transcripts/744884767
Discussion questions: Anti_Racism_JC_2_26_21
2021/1/29, Friday 3pm Pacific Time
Professor Anton Gorodetski, Math
Professor Gorodetski will lead a discussion based on the story of Daryl Davis, a musician who convinced many Ku Klux Klan Members to leave their organization. Here is the video of his talk:
And here are a couple of papers about him:
Discussion questions: Daryl Davis Discussion
2020/12/18, Friday 3pm Pacific Time
Professor Renee Link, Chemistry
Professor Laura Tucker, Physics and Astronomy
Professors Link and Tucker will lead a discussion based on the follow article:
APS News – The Back Page: It’s Not “Talent,” it’s “Privilege” by Carl Wieman (Nobel Laureate in Physics 2001)
2020/11/20, Friday 3pm Pacific Time
Jesse Kreger, Graduate Student, Math
Jesse will lead a discussion based on the following articles:
AMS Blog Post: Why I’m leaving a Research I University for a Liberal Arts College, by Edray Goins (Sep 15, 2017)
Link
New York Times, For a Black Mathematician, What It’s Like to Be the ‘Only One’ (Feb 18, 2019), by Amy Harmon
Link
Discussion Questions: Breakout Room Prompts
2020/10/16, Friday 1pm Pacific Time
Garrett Yoshitomi, Graduate Coordinator, Chemistry
Garrett will lead a discussion based on the following video:
Talks at Google: So You Want to Talk About Race, by Ijeoma Oluo (Feb 6, 2018)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnybJZRWipg
Discussion Questions: So You Want To Talk About Race Journal Club Discussion Questions
2020/9/4, Friday 1pm Pacific Time
Dr. Michael Smy, Researcher, Physics and Astronomy
Dr. Smy will lead a discussion based on the following New York Times Magazine article:
New York Times Magazine, America’s Enduring Caste System by Isabel Wilkerson (July 1, 2020)
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/01/magazine/isabel-wilkerson-caste.html?smid=em-share
Discussion Questions for the Breakout Rooms: 20200904_Breakout
2020/8/14, Friday 1pm Pacific Time
Doug Tobias, Professor and Chair, Chemistry
Professor and Chair Tobias will lead a discussion based on the following TED Talk and New York Times article:
New York Times Opinion, When the Robot Doesn’t See Dark Skin (June 21, 2018)
By Joy Buolamwini
Discussion for the breakout rooms: 20200710_Breakout
2020/7/10, Friday 1pm Pacific Time
Jesse Wolfson, Professor, Math
Professor Wolfson will lead the discussion based on the reading:
“The Case for Reparations” by Ta-Nehisi Coates (2014/06)
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/06/the-case-for-reparations/361631/
Discussion Questions for the Breakout Rooms: 20200710_Breakout