PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

DDI is a year-long program that combines learning and dialogue along with travel to sites of historical and contemporary importance to race in America to allow students to investigate institutional and contextual forces and power differences that are at the heart of racial/ethnic tensions, and should be considered in developing and implementing strategies for improving race relations.

 

PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES:

The objective is to provide students with the education, training and experiences needed to better understand, negotiate and resolve issues of race. More information on DDI may be found at: deconstructingdiversity.uci.edu

 

PROGRAM BENEFITS

• Raise your awareness of diversity, equity, and inclusion through in-class and experiential education around race issues in the U.S.
• Network with students, faculty, and community
• Build confidence to engage in difficult dialogue and navigate issues of race and equity
• Gain essential leadership experience for working in diverse environments
• Take your scholarship and research to action as community change-agents
• Earn a Certificate in Racial Justice & Healing

 

PARTICIPATION REQUIREMENTS & TIME COMMITMENTS

Attendance is required for all three components of the program.

1. DDI seminars: variable Wednesdays from 3:30-5:30pm (approximately 4 or 5 times per quarter).
2. DIRHA mentorship: variable Wednesdays from 4 - 7:30 (approximately 2 per quarter).
3. Travel: three trips are planned and will be paid for students that meet the attendance and participation requirements of the program (read below for more information on travel). Additionally, participants must complete reading/assignments, as assigned, and be prepared to discuss and participate in group dialogue with fellow students, faculty, and guest speakers.

The combines participation in DDI+DIRHA will amount to approximately 7 or 8 times per quarter

 

MORE PROGRAM INFORMATION:

 

DDI SEMINARS

DDI Seminars serve as an introduction to issues of race that are central to American society.

Fall quarter will focus primarily on theoretical frameworks for understanding the impact of race on the American experience, paying particular attention to the experiences of Indigenous Americans, African Americans, Asian Americans, and Latines in the US. Topics include psychological approaches to racial identity formation and structural approaches to race such as critical race theory; differential racialization; intersectionality; anti-blackness; and white privilege.

Winter quarter will provide a chance to further explore critical issues that are impacted by race and race relations in America, such as race and education; the Asian American Achievement Paradox; immigration, labor, and race; allyship and the politics of solidarity; anti-blackness and the queer rights movement; art and racial resilience; and multicultural / diversity initiatives.

Spring quarter will focus on local initiatives. Students will begin to develop their own change-agent initiatives for their local communities.

 

DIRHA MENTORSHIP

A large focus of DDI is to apply and pass on knowledge and experience acquired. Therefore, DDI participants will serve as (paid) mentors to high school students in the Diversity, Inclusion, & Racial Healing Ambassador (DIRHA) program. More information on DIRHA may be found at: dirha.uci.edu

 

DDI TRAVEL

The travel component of the program provides students a chance to engage in dialogue about issues of race in America by meeting with a variety of activists, community leaders, policymakers, and NGOs to explore topics including gentrification, mass incarceration, environmental racism, grass-roots activism, and more. Travel also allows students to strengthen their skills at navigating important – and often controversial – topics with sensitivity to the diverse narratives that underlie issues of race in America. The three trips planned are:

• Winter quarter (dates TBD, prior to week 5, Thursday - Sunday) we will travel to San Francisco, Berkeley, and Oakland.
• Spring break (departing the Sunday after finals and returning the Saturday before Spring quarter), we will travel to Atlanta, Montgomery, and New Orleans.
• Spring quarter (TBD before week 5, Thursday - Sunday) we will travel to Chicago, and possibly Washington D.C.

 

Questions?

Contact Dr. Neighbors at ddi@uci.edu