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December 2022 As we finish up Fall semester of 2022 and prepare for a much-needed break, we wanted to highlight a few steps A&S is taking to create a more inclusive, bias-free community. We know, regardless of whether it makes the news or not, that racism is a part of the daily lived experience of our faculty, students, and staff of color. We cannot be an inclusive campus when valued members of our community are treated poorly or feel unsafe. To be explicit about fighting racism, we have two initiatives that will need faculty and student support, and we encourage you to participate in these initiatives as you can: First, we are creating a new Virtual Classroom series, a series of online webinars for students. The first one will be focused on Learning about Racism. Faculty who are interested are asked to contact Associate Dean Christia Brown (christia.brown@uky.edu) about submitting a 5-minute mini-lecture about racism from their disciplinary perspective. We will combine these multi-disciplinary mini-lectures into a cohesive webinar that will be available to students online. We are hoping that instructors will encourage their students to watch the Virtual Classrooms for credit or extra credit. Second, we will begin a bystander intervention program to help students know how to help their peers when bias incidents happen. Our goal is change what is acceptable among our students and do a better job of Taking Care of Each Other. For this program, we will employ a train-the-trainer model from StepUp!, an empirically-supported program designed for use on college campuses, that helps empower students to recognize bias and safely respond. We hope to have people volunteer to help begin this project in January. In the meantime, take time to relax over break. If you celebrate a holiday over the break, we hope it is meaningful. We look forward to working with you in the new year. — Dr. Christia Spears Brown Fall 2022 Improving Inclusion in the Classroom Workshops Recap Thanks to all who attended our Fall 2022 Improving Inclusion in the Classroom Workshop sessions this semester! Plans for the Spring 2023 IIC Workshops will be announced in January and details will follow on how you can get involved. Please access our survey below to provide feedback for future sessions! Resources from our Fall 2022 workshops can be accessed by going to the DEI Resources webpage and selecting 'Improving Inclusion in the Classroom Resources.' Resources for all 3 Fall Sessions have been added. If you have topics you would like to see covered in our Spring 2023 workshops, please email christia.brown@uky.edu or share on our
survey by clicking the button below.
Department Spotlight 
The Department of Modern and Classical Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (MCLLC) is a critical center for humanities education at UK and a cornerstone of UK’s efforts to prepare its students for professional lives in a globally interconnected world, a central goal of UK’s educational mission. The department seeks to fulfill this mission through comprehensive teaching and training at the undergraduate and graduate levels, original research advancing knowledge in the study of language and a vast array of cultural products (art, film, folklore, literature, music, mythology, religion, theatre), service to communities within and outside the Commonwealth, and outreach in the schools to fulfill needs with respect to language instruction and cultural awareness. The diversity of the research conducted in MCLLC is illustrated by the broad disciplinary backgrounds of its faculty and the specific projects on which it works. The department is comprised of linguists, literary theorists, literary historians, second-language acquisition specialists, historians of religion, philologists, archaeologists, folklorists, and anthropologists. Some recent publications, news, and outreach include:
MCLLC teaches 5,600 UK students each year in the Global Humanities (language, culture, literature, film studies, mythology, and folklore) who go on to careers in diplomacy, public and foreign service, non-profits, international business, medicine, law, journalism, publishing, and national security. In MCLLC, the study of language and culture is considered to be an “opportunity multiplier” for students, helping them succeed in whatever career pathway they choose. Offering instruction in 10 languages (Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Greek, Hebrew, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Russian), MCLLC is home to an average of 114 majors and 191 minors, of whom a large majority engage in study abroad, as well as 45 graduate students from 6 continents spread across 7 graduate programs (with online options). In addition, MCLLC faculty currently sponsor 9 different student language and academic clubs and coordinate a wide array of events for undergraduates. Some upcoming events of note that are open to the public:
MCLLC is an essential contributor, along with several other departments, to the Certificate in International Film Studies in Arts and Sciences. The department broadens student exposure to cultural issues and film aesthetics from around the world by offering courses (primarily in English) on cinematic traditions from around the world. This Spring '23, the film studies program is organizing a film series called "Reproductive Lives and Reproductive Justice in Global Cinema," which will feature films from around the world that explore a range of topics related to reproductive lives. The films will explore issues related to surrogacy, adoption, trans pregnancy, abortion, and other issues related to reproductive lives in a range of geographic and cultural contexts. Look for the schedule at https://ifs.as.uky.edu/ at the start of spring semester. 
If you have experienced an incidence of bias, please report it. We are working hard to make UK a bias-free, inclusive campus. |
