Campus Counterspaces Book Club

Content

The College of Education invites you to join small book group discussions of Micere Keels' book Campus Counterspaces: Black and Latinx Students' Search for Community at Historically White Universities. This book challenges historically white universities like UMass Amherst to go beyond making diversity statements to taking diversity actions. Dr. Keels will give a public talk at UMass in the Old Chapel on November 9, 2021 at 11:30 AM. The event is co-sponsored by the Colleges of Education, Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Natural Sciences; and the Office of Equity and Inclusion. Book groups will meet twice before her visit to discuss the book with access to guided discussion questions. 

If you are interested in joining a book group, please sign up here by September 30 to select your two preferred meeting dates. Each meeting time is offered via Zoom or face-to-face. Special thanks and credit to the Office of Equity and Inclusion for the precedent set by their successful Learning Community Book Groups. 

Please read on for more details about the book, how to access it, and the group discussions.

How do I get the book?

The book is available here for free to UMass affiliates as an ebook through the UMass Library. After you click on the above link to the book:

• Click on the UMass: Link to Resource link in the upper left-hand corner of the catalog record.
• If you are off-campus, you will be prompted to log in with your NetID and password.

You can also purchase your own copy here. 

What is the book about? 

Dr. Keels, a professor of comparative human development, wrote Campus Counterspaces in response to news articles describing historically marginalized students as "fragile and perpetually vulnerable to victimization." In contrast, her interviews with 500 Black and Latinx students over time while they were enrolled at five historically white colleges and universities found that they were asking for access to counterspaces - safe spaces that would enable radical growth. Radical growth is the development of ideas and narratives that challenge dominant representations of and notions about their marginalized identities. 

Dr. Keels tells the students' stories and paints a compelling picture of their experiences, concluding that these students are not asking to be protected from new ideas. In fact, they relish exposure to new ideas and desire to be intellectually challenged, but they long for counterspaces where they can go beyond basic conversations about whether racism and discrimination still exist. They thrive in time spent in counterspaces with like-minded others where they can simultaneously validate and challenge stereotypical representations of their marginalized identities and develop new counter narratives to those identities. 

How can we create, sustain, and nurture such spaces at UMass, our community, and beyond for students of all ethnic, racial, and marginalized groups? 

Where/How will groups meet? 

When you complete the sign-up form, you will indicate the date you would like to meet and whether you would like to meet via Zoom or in-person. The College of Education's Office of Research and Engagement will connect all individuals who sign up for the same time and meeting modality following the sign-up period, set up Zoom links (for those meeting via Zoom), and reserve rooms in Furcolo (for those meeting in-person). 

Are there conversation guides?

We will provide groups with suggested ground rules for meetings and discussion questions. Groups can determine whether they'd like to use the ground rules and prompts or not, and to what extent.

Who will be in these groups?

The groups are open to all faculty, staff, and students. Most participants in these groups will be from the College of Education; however, there may be some participants from other parts of campus who are unable to join similar small group discussions offered by the other event co-sponsors (i.e., SBS, CNS).  

What is the time commitment?

Groups meet for one hour at two different times: once in mid-October and once in late October or early November. Be sure to attend Dr. Keels' talk at 11:30 in the Old Chapel on November 9th to ask her any specific questions that were generated during your meetings!

Can we get release time to participate?

While we can't mandate release time, we encourage supervisors to provide release time to staff interested in participating. 

Please contact the Office of Research and Engagement with any questions at educore [at] umass [dot] edu (educore[at]umass[dot]edu). We look forward to you joining the conversation!