Considering Identity in the Languages and Arts
The Commemoration Committee at County College of Morris (CCM) will be holding a virtual session on “Inclusion and Equity in Teaching: Considering Identity and LGBTQ+ in the Languages and Arts” in recognition of June as LGBTQ+ month.
The session takes place Thursday, June 23, from 1 – 2 p.m. on Zoom. Email commemoration@ccm.edu and the link and details will be emailed before the event.
The event will consist of two discussions. First Dr. Megan Biondi, Languages & ESL, will present on “LGBTQ Inclusive Pronouns and Adjective Endings in Spanish.” Then Dr. Brian Sahotsky, Art & Design, will present on “How to be an Ally When Viewing Art.”
“Professor Biondi will investigate the use of gender-inclusive pronouns and the term Latinx in the Spanish language,” says Dr. Yoonha Shin, English & Philosophy, co-chair of the Commemoration Committee. “Although Spanish has traditionally been one of the most machista and least gender inclusive Romance languages, it is also quickly evolving to become more gender-inclusive,” says Shin. “The only way to achieve a wider acceptance of gender-inclusive forms and true gender equity in Spanish is to teach these suffixes to students as normal, and legitimate pronouns and noun and adjective endings not as weird, optional or alternate linguistic forms.”
She adds, “Professor Sahotsky will present a variety of new discourses in the fields of art production, analysis, viewing and appreciation. Viewers will learn to be an ally by discussing and understanding contemporary developments in the reading of art and visual culture, including queer theory, identity politics, feminist theory, ethnocentrism and other historical perpetrations of ‘othering.’”
The Commemoration Committee is an interdisciplinary group at CCM that recognizes and raises awareness and understanding of diverse groups, cultures and histories through events recognizing days or months of remembrance.
