The theme for the 2023 Provost’s Diversity Institute for Faculty Development, which starts May 16, is Queering the Classroom.
The institute will explore intersectional queer experiences in the classroom and beyond; explore and consider queer pain, exclusion and joy in the classroom; and engage with the practices of queer pedagogy as a step toward creating queer-inclusive classrooms and curricula.
The institute was created to offer the full- and part-time Pitt faculty the opportunity to increase awareness about equity and inclusion and develop skills needed to teach in a diverse, multicultural environment.
Space is limited. Follow the links below to register for each event.
May 16: The Anti-LGBTQ+ Legislative Landscape and the University Classroom will explore anti-LGBTQ legislation’s implications for the University classroom. This session addresses how these bills, often directed at K-12 students and educators, resonate through and have consequences for higher education University classrooms.
May 18: Queer Praxis Workshop will explore strategies that facilitate teaching and learning outside of normative structures and honor the strengths and needs of our queer and trans students. Participants are asked to have access to a syllabus they’re interested in “queering.”
May 19: LGBTQ+ Health and the Medical Curriculum. This session discusses medical curriculum development focused on LGBTQ+ health care. The panelists will discuss insights and considerations from their practice of creating and supporting LGBTQ+ centered curricula.
May 25: Queering STEM Culture and Classroom. This session will discuss how STEM disciplines can support LGBTQ+ students and professionals in higher education; and how to create a culture where LGBTQ+ students and professionals thrive in STEM disciplines in higher education. It will highlight the panelists’ edited volume “Queering STEM Culture in US Higher Education: Navigating Experiences of Exclusion in the Academy,” which explores the lived experiences of members of the queer and trans community in post-secondary STEM culture in the U.S. to provide critical insights into progressing socially just STEM education pathways.
May 30: Teach In: Trans Identities for University Educators. This session will present and outline considerations when supporting transgender and non-binary students. It will especially highlight the potential needs of those entering from unsupportive living environments and/or educational settings, as well as what’s at stake with current anti-LGBT legislation across the United States.
May 31: Queer Joy and Belonging in the University Classroom. This session focuses on how to recognize, celebrate and cultivate queer joy in teaching and learning spaces. This undergraduate student session centers queer student voices from our campuses. It seeks to explore the following questions:
June 1: Using LGBTQ+ Digital Archives. This session will highlight Pitt library’s LGBTQ digital archives and showcase the ways that the digital archive can be used by instructors as they create queer-inclusive classroom spaces, cultures and materials.