“Making Diversity Real?: The Limits and Possibilities of Diversity Politics/Policies in German Higher Education System”
- https://www.uni-giessen.de/en/faculties/ggkgcsc/ggk-gcsc-calendar/sose25/ws/making-diversity-real-the-limits-and-possibilities-of-diversity-politics-policies-in-german-higher-education-system
- “Making Diversity Real?: The Limits and Possibilities of Diversity Politics/Policies in German Higher Education System”
- 2025-06-23T13:00:00+02:00
- 2025-06-23T16:30:00+02:00
When
Jun 23, 2025 from 01:00 to 04:30 (Europe/Berlin / UTC200)
Where
SR 109, GCSC, Otto-Behaghel Str.12, Gießen
Contact Name
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This workshop aims at carefully re-examining the concepts of diversity and inclusion in academic spaces as they are reflected in practices embedded in the dominant matrix of power that creates difference and systemically excludes a wide array of existences – immigrants, people of colour, queer people, people with disabilities, women, and people from less privileged backgrounds. As Vanessa Thompson and Veronika Zablotsky (2017) posit in "Rethinking Diversity in Academic Institutions: For a Repoliticization of Difference as a Matter of Social Justice", the diversity politics and diversity discourses within institutions need to come under scrutiny as very often “exclusionary dynamics are articulated through a corporate lens of incorporation” (p. 115).
The workshop is divided into two parts. During the first part, the invited scholars will offer their insights on notions such as the constructedness of difference, on how phenomena and concepts like privilege, as an accumulative power relationship, help us understand the dynamics of diversity and power in neoliberal institutional contexts. We will also discuss the development of ‘neoliberalism of academic spaces’ in context with German public universities. The second part will be a more interactive discussion with the participants to consider the more every day, and practical possibilities of inculcating practices and thinking concerning diversity and inclusivity, including the role of institutions and structures in fostering social justice and diversity. Other questions, considerations, and thoughts, are welcomes by the participants attending the workshop.
Here is the link to join online: https://webconf.hrz.uni-giessen.de/b/erz-m2y-q5h-n7s
//Prof. Vanessa Thompson and Prof. Veronika Zablotsky