What does it mean to work, study, and belong in a New American University? In this episode, we discuss pressing topics in higher education from politically motivated mischaracterizations of Critical Race Theory to conceptually redefining what it looks and feels like to belong at public universities. We invited scholars to help us unpack exactly who is creating and who belongs in the conceptual spaces being crafted by schools around the country.

Dr. Adrienne Dixson is a professor of Educational Leadership Studies and Executive Director of the Education and Civil Rights Initiative at the University of Kentucky. Dr. Joyce McCall is an assistant professor of music learning and teaching in the School of Music, Dance and Theatre at ASU.

Episode Details:

- Recorded at: EdPlus Studios, Tempe, Arizona

- Host(s): Mako Fitts Ward, Jamal Brooks-Hawkins

- Guest(s): Dr. Adrienne Dixson, Dr. Joyce McCall

- Executive Producer: Kyra Trent

- Episode Producer(s/Writer): Mako Fitts Ward, Jamal Brooks-Hawkins

- “Learning Moment” Segment Producer: Kyle McKinney

- Technical Support: Ricardo Leon, Arizona PBS

Sponsor:

A special thank you to our sponsor, Arizona PBS, for supporting this episode.

Connect with Us:

- Twitter: www.twitter.com/asustl

- YouTube: www.youtube.com/@asustl

- Email: STL@asu.edu

In this episode, we are joined by scholar-artists Dr. Celina Osuna, Assistant Professor of English at the University of Texas at El Paso, and Dr. Mathew Sandoval, Associate Teaching Professor in Barrett the Honors College on the Downtown campus at ASU. Osuna and Sandoval join Social Transformation Director Mako Fitts Ward in a conversation on the role of art in transforming the way we think, how we move and the overall lens through which we perceive the world around us. We also get into the importance of art and exposure to a range of artistic expressions for people across generations.

Dr. Osuna references the following artists and local spaces: Rafa Esparza, Chela, José Villalobos, Gloria Martinez-Granados as Borderless Creative, and Palabras Bilingual Bookstore. Dr. Sandoval references the following artists: Larissa FastHorse and Kristina Wong.

For more on art, performance, and embodied memory, check out The Archive and the Repertoire: Performing Cultural Memory in the Americas by Diana Taylor referenced by Kyle McKinney in this episode’s Learning Moment.

Episode Details:

- Recorded at: EdPlus Studios, Tempe, Arizona

- Host(s): Dr. Mako Fitts Ward

- Guest(s): Dr. Celina Osuna, Dr. Mathew Sandoval

- Executive Producer: Kyra Trent

- Episode Producer(s/Writer): Mako Fitts Ward

- “Learning Moment” Segment Producer: Kyle McKinney

- Technical Support: Ricardo Leon, Arizona PBS

Sponsor:

A special thank you to our sponsor, Arizona PBS, for supporting this episode.

Connect with Us:

- Twitter: www.twitter.com/asustl

- YouTube: www.youtube.com/@asustl

- Email: STL@asu.edu

Don’t believe the hype! Much of the narratives about LGBTQIA+ communities and conversations regarding their rights have become fodder for political theatre. In this episode, the Lab brings together educators and community leaders to discuss the legacy and importance of intentional community, strong visual representation, and strategic activism.

Episode Details:

- Recorded at: EdPlus Studios, Tempe, Arizona

- Host(s): Kyle McKinney, Jamal Brooks-Hawkins

- Guest(s): David Boyles, Rebecca Semik

- Executive Producer: Kyra Trent

- Episode Producer(s/Writer): Kyle McKinney, Jamal Brooks-Hawkins

- “Learning Moment” Segment Producer: Kyle McKinney

- Technical Support: Ricardo Leon, Arizona PBS

Sponsor:

A special thank you to our sponsor, Arizona PBS, for supporting this episode.

Connect with Us:

- Twitter: www.twitter.com/asustl

- YouTube: www.youtube.com/@asustl

- Email: STL@asu.edu

In this episode, we talk with Dr. Carrie Sampson and Ashley Farrell on the educational landscape in Arizona, covering a range of topics including the movement against Critical Race Theory (CRT), the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education, the interplay between parental demands for choice and the narrowing of options, and the push to restructure our educational system through social policy.

Dr. Sampson referenced education scholar Dr. Bettina Love’s book We Want to Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching and the Pursuit of Educational Freedom (Penguin Random House, 2019). Check out the Arizona Education Association for more information on advocacy efforts for inclusive public education in Arizona.

Episode Details:

- Recorded at: EdPlus Studios, Tempe, Arizona

- Host(s): Amber Green, Jamal Brooks-Hawkins

- Guest(s): Carrie Sampson, Ashley Farrell

- Executive Producer: Kyra Trent

- Episode Producers: Amber Green, Jamal Brooks-Hawkins

- “Learning Moment” Segment Producer: Kyle McKinney

- Technical Support: Ricardo Leon, Arizona PBS

Sponsor:

A special thank you to our sponsor, Arizona PBS, for supporting this episode.

Connect with Us:

- Twitter: www.twitter.com/asustl

- YouTube: www.youtube.com/@asustl

- Email: STL@asu.edu

This is the question on the table in this inaugural episode of Okay! School Me. A mosaic of faculty voices from the ASU community consider definitions of “social transformation.” This episode was designed to showcase the complexity and diversity inherent in processes of social change.

Episode Details:

- Recorded at EdPlus Studios, Tempe, Arizona

- Host(s): Celina Osuna and Mako Fitts Ward

- Guest(s): Heather Switzer, Rudy P. Guevara, Jr., Vera Lopez, Sa Whitley, Jacob Leveton, Marlene Marquez

- Executive Producer: Kyra Trent

- Episode Producer(s/Writer): Celina Osuna, Amber Green, Mako Fitts Ward

- “Learning Moment” Segment Producer: Kyle McKinney

- Technical Support: Ricardo Leon, Arizona PBS

Connect with Us:

- Twitter: www.twitter.com/asustl

- YouTube: www.youtube.com/@asustl

- Email: STL@asu.edu

Okay! School Me was born from a place of exploration. In this teaser episode, scholars from the Social Transformation Lab demonstrate the interest around social difference and what it means to think outside the university classroom.