Session I Thursday, January 28 | 10:00 am – 11:00 am
Systems of Oppression: Religious, Secular, & Spiritual Marginalization in Higher Education Jenny Small J. Cody Nielsen Marginalization of certain religious, secular, and spiritual identities within higher education occurs due to intersections of Christian supremacy, structural racism, and colonization. These oppressions interlock in ways that compound the marginalization of non-Christians, people of color, and nonChristian people of color. While scholars and practitioners have become experienced at utilizing critical race theories to understand systemic racism, most in higher education have not been exposed to similar theories and frameworks around white Christian privilege and white Christian supremacy. This session will introduce participants to Critical Religious Pluralism Theory (CRPT), a new critical theory with the “primary goal of acknowledging the central roles of religious privilege, oppression, hegemony, and marginalization in maintaining inequality between Christians and nonChristians in the United States.� The presenters, who include the author of CRPT, will share the seven tenets of the theory and its related guidelines for implementation.
Self Care during Crisis: Setting Boundaries in Higher Education Erin McCollum Audrey Ashburn In this program, we will be exploring the importance of setting boundaries in student affairs and higher education. We will review the eight dimensions of wellness, using boundaries as a way to promote wellness personally, socially, and professionally. We will also talk about the emotional labor involved in higher education that makes boundary setting difficult. Participants will use time management as a tool to set boundaries, as well as relying on their personal and institutional values in the process. Our goal is to remind student affairs professionals that supporting wellness in our students is impossible without supporting wellness in ourselves. Participants will leave with a tangible plan to set and maintain boundaries in their professional and personal lives.
The presenters will also share solution focused methods, in the form of policies and practices, which can work to eradicate white Christian supremacy. These methods will include ways to present to peers and supervisors the overt nature of white Christian privilege within the institutions we serve, pathways toward aligning concerns with current institutional strategic outcomes, and framing narratives of equity and inclusion.
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