Dear all, 

We are a collective of Ethnic Studies graduate and undergraduate students at UC San Diego. Inspired by the radical imagination and grassroots organizing that birthed Ethnic Studies and its sibling fields, we aim to create a space for students invested in Ethnic Studies to reflect on their community engagement, learn from each other's research, and foster intellectual communities across disciplines and institutions. Additionally, we want to foster dialogue between the faculty, graduate students, undergraduate students, and educators outside the university who are learning and working on implementing Ethnic Studies in K-12 classrooms. The conference will be free for all, but space is limited.

Keynote Panels & Performances:

Opening Keynote Panel: Where is the Ethnic Studies Classroom? 

• Marysol Gomez - Ethnic Studies High School Teacher | San Ysidro High School 

• Farida Erikat | Youth Organizer at the Majdal Center

• Moshoula Capous-Desyllas | Professor in Sociology, CSU Northridge. 

• David Chavez | Professor in the Ethnic Studies, Compton Community College. 

• Moderator: Yến Lê Espiritu | Professor in the Ethnic Studies, UC San Diego 

      Dabke & Spoken Word Performance by Majdal Center Arab Youth Collective 

Closing Keynote Panel: Teaching with Palestine: A Conversation with The Critical Refugee Studies Collective 

• Yến Lê Espiritu | Professor in the Ethnic Studies, UC San Diego 

• Lan Duong | Professor in Cinema & Media Studies, USC 

• Fiori Berhane | Professor in Anthropology, USC 

• Lila Sharif | Professor in Women and Gender Studies, ASU

Call for Papers & Artworks

We welcome interdisciplinary projects on various topics and stages of development. We invite proposals from high school students, undergraduate and graduate students, artists, writers, activists, and other practitioners. Projects that consider a range of disciplines and methods that speak across (non)traditional or intellectual borders are required. You’re welcome to submit more than one abstract. 

Work-in-Progress Roundtable with a Twist (Graduate & Undergraduate Students)

This format is for all students who wish to share and workshop their research ideas and questions. This roundtable discussion will consist of two parts. In the first part, submitters will be placed with students who share similar research interests to discuss their works in progress (WIP) or how they are currently conceptualizing their research at any stage. The second part of this session will be to share key takeaways and lessons learned with other roundtable groups. The intention of this format is to workshop your ideas and hear some new perspectives from other students who work in your research area while also facilitating interdisciplinary conversations and connections. We hope these conversations continue outside of this space into larger networks of intellectual support and community building. 

Individual Presentation (Undergraduate Senior Thesis, MA Thesis, ABD/ Dissertating PhD Students) 

This format is for students who want to present their research. It will be a traditional conference panel presentation followed by a discussion and Q&A session. Each panelist will have 12 minutes to present their work (4 presenters/ panel). 

Multimedia Research Posters (High School and Undergraduate students)

This format is for undergraduate students who have completed their research and want to showcase their work in the form of a poster. These posters will be exhibited in the cross-cultural center and will be available for viewing throughout the conference. There will not be a poster presentation session, so we ask that your poster include multimedia components (For example: QR code to access audio narration, etc) 

Artwork Exhibition (Everyone)

We encourage artwork that attends to/engages with/contends with the topics of Ethnic Studies. In your abstract, please describe how your work attends to the topics including but not limited to race, ethnicity, Indigeneity, gender, sexuality, class, and dis/ability. Additionally, please submit a description of up to 500 words to accompany your piece. 

*To submit your abstracts, please fill out the form under "Submission" page by 11:59 PM April 21st, 2024* 

More information about the conference is coming soon.
If you have any questions, please visit the "Contact" page to submit your questions.

 In community, 

Phúc Tô, Victoria Siaumau, Hannah Drake <3

Core Team of Organizers

Conference Co-Organizers:
Yến Lê Espiritu, Phúc Tô, Victoria Siamau, Sara Almalla, Hannah Drake.

Conference Coordinators:
Cristal Alba, Christie Yamasaki, Citlally Solorzano, Muhammad Yousuf, Radhika Marwaha, Sara Sparks, Tirrezz Hudson, Tyann Reneau, Isaias Rogel.