Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging to sponsor workshops on social bias

The Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at Purdue-West Lafayette invites faculty and staff to participate this fall in the virtual workshop series “Speaking Up: How Bystanders Can Change the Conversation About Social Bias.” The experience will pair leading research with an engaging applied theater program to provide participants an opportunity to increase their knowledge and awareness of how bias may occur in everyday settings, as well as to practice effective conversational strategies for responding to bias. 

The virtual workshop sessions are free and will be offered twice each day on Oct. 17 and Oct. 27 from 9 a.m. to noon and 2-5 p.m. Register here to attend a session. 
 
The workshop is a collaborative effort between the University of New Hampshire’s PowerPlay Interactive Development and Incluxion Works, a consulting firm providing expertise and evidence-based content. The three-hour workshop includes an overview of recent scholarship on social bias followed by scenarios acted out by a professional theater ensemble. Participants will have the opportunity to alter scenarios and learn to understand how different experiences can impact bias in academic settings. 
 
Faculty and staff interested in deepening their knowledge of social identity, raising their level of awareness regarding bias or wanting to learn how to better navigate conversations in their everyday lives are encouraged to participate. The sessions are open to faculty and staff at Purdue West Lafayette, Purdue Northwest, Purdue Fort Wayne, Purdue Global, Purdue Polytechnic Statewide locations and Purdue Polytechnic High Schools. 
 
For more information about the “Speaking Up: How Bystanders Can Change the Conversation About Social Bias” workshop, contact the Office of Diversity, Inclusion and Belonging at diversity@purdue.edu.