Social Conditioning:  The Historical and Socio-Political Context of Systemic Discrimination

Social Conditioning:  The Historical and Socio-Political Context of Systemic Discrimination–  with Dr. Joseph Smith

As established within the context of the western world, our understanding of Race dates back to Ancient Mesopotamia. Our contemporary world is still animated by theories, laws, and policies that have travelled across time for over 3,000 years. Likewise, our institutions and their practitioners have not only been influenced by these inherited structures, but they continue to champion their messages, at times unbeknownst to most citizens of our contemporary globalized world. This workshop aims to establish a level of common ground among participants as it pertains to the inherited structures that threaten to render the merits of our plural and diverse world inaccessible.

Key questions that will guide this seminar: What is racism? How have historical power imbalances and inequities shaped our contemporary context? What can we do to structurally dismantle systemic racism within our industry?

Bio:
Joseph Smith is a PhD. His doctorate is in the Humanities and encompasses key notions amongst the disciplines of philosophy, psychology, religious studies, and literature with a focus on the philosophies of self-consciousness within the west and the intellectual background of black consciousness.

Dr. Smith is a qualified elementary, secondary, and post-secondary educator and the current Vice Principal of Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute; co-founder of the non-profit organization Generation Chosen which seeks to interrupt intergenerational cycles of trauma and poverty; a former project coordinator for the Black Experience Project housed / funded by Environics Research Institute; a facilitator and consultant in the area of Anti-Black Racism and Emotional health at Life Works; runs a boutique consultancy agency called Anchoring Minds Inc. which focusses on the development of strategic plans geared towards shifting corporate culture in progressive and innovative ways; and is a founding member of the Foundation for Black Communities which is a non-profit organization designed to adjudicate grants, develop policy, and liaise with government and the philanthropic sector to serve Black-led and Black-serving non-profits and charities.

This event is part of the Anti-Racism Speaker Series.
Registration is not required. Click here to join the event.