DDGC Syllabus Workshop 2020

Six Ds (Diversify, Digress, Decenter, Devalue, Disinvest, Diminish)

An Informal Workshop for Inclusive Syllabi to be held concurrently with the American Comparative Literature Association's 2020 Annual Meeting (March 19th-22nd, 2020 Chicago, IL)

ORGANIZER
Gizem Arslan (Southern Methodist University)
 
DESCRIPTION
Inspired by the mission of our collective Diversity, Decolonization, and the German Curriculum, and in our belief that the classroom is “the most important venue to stimulate change,” we invite our colleagues to take part in an informal workshop to revise lessons, modules or syllabi that incorporate applied language, cultural, feminist, queer, gender, Black, Indigenous, and/or ethnic studies perspectives in German Studies. 
 
The objectives of the workshop have been summed up by medical anthropologist Nayantara Sheoran Appleton:

• to diversify our activities and syllabi

• to digress from the cannon in our choice of focal texts

• to decenter knowledge and knowledge production

• to devalue disciplinary hierarchies

• to disinvest from citational power structures 

• to diminish heretofore overvalued voices while magnifying marginalized voices

 
INFORMATION FOR PARTICIPANTS

• A poll will be sent out to participants once the ACLA Annual Meeting’s program is posted. 

• A location will be chosen and announced once the organizers receive most responses to the poll. 

• Participants are invited to come with their laptops/tablets and materials, and be prepared to share them, digitally or on paper (in which case 5-6 paper copies is another option). 

• Participants not attending the ACLA are encouraged to participate. 

 
SUGGESTED READINGS

• Nayantara Sheoran Appleton. “Do Not ‘Decolonize’ . . . If You Are Not Decolonizing: Progressive Language and Planning Beyond a Hollow Academic Rebranding.’” n.d. Critical Ethnic Studies. http://www.criticalethnicstudiesjournal.org/blog/2019/1/21/do-not-decolonize-if-you-are-not-decolonizing-alternate-language-to-navigate-desires-for-progressive-academia-6y5sg.

•  Anya, Uju, and L J Randolph. 2019. “Diversifying Language Educators and Learners.” The Language Educator, 5. https://www.actfl.org/sites/default/files/tle/TLE_OctNov19_Article.pdf

• Dennis, Carol Azumah. 2018. “Decolonising Education: A Pedagogic Intervention.” In Decolonising the University, edited by Gurminder K. Bhambra, Dalia Gebrial, and Kerem Nisancioglu, 190–207. London: Pluto Press.

• Macedo, Donaldo P. 2019. “Rupturing the Yoke of Colonialism in Foreign Language Education: An Introduction.” In Decolonizing Foreign Language Education: The Misteaching of English and Other Colonial Languages, edited by Donaldo P. Macedo, 1–49. New York, NY: Routledge.