The Critical Educators for Social Justice (CESJ) SIG is pleased to invite nominations for our 2019 awards, including the Outstanding Dissertation Award, the Scholar Activist and Community Advocacy Award, and the Revolutionary Mentor Award. See below for descriptions of and nomination processes for each award. Nominations are due by 11:59 PM PST on February 1, 2019.
• Nominee must have successfully defended their dissertation between Spring 2017 and Fall 2018 (no later than December 31, 2018).
A narrative explicitly connecting the dissertation work to the CESJ mission of employing critical theory in working for social justice, environmental, racial and/or economic justice, or human rights through research, teaching, and activism within our classrooms, schools, and communities.
A letter of support from the dissertation supervisor that also indicates the completion date of the dissertation.
The applicant must remove all identifiable references to individuals, institutions and, places that might bias reviewers on memo and 20-25 page synopsis.
All materials MUST be submitted in ONE email.
Nominee may not be a paid member of any community organization involved in the advocacy work.
Nominee may not have received any compensation (excluding grant funding) from community groups or members involved in the advocacy work.
Nominations must be submitted no later than 11:59 PM PST on February 1, 2019. Please submit all nomination materials within a single email to subiniannamma@ku.edu; incomplete packets will not be reviewed.
Focus on issues of social justice in education from a critical perspective: The scholar-activist must demonstrate a commitment to the struggle for equity, human rights and/or democracy for diverse communities centered on social, environmental, racial, economic, intersectional justice, and/or human rights within our classrooms, schools, and/or communities.
Evidence of linking academic scholarship to activism: There is evidence that the scholar-activist uses scholarship broadly defined as a vehicle to rethink traditional research methods and theoretical frameworks, builds upon indigenous knowledge(s), and/or center marginalized perspectives for the benefit of the community organization.
Impact of scholar-activism: The impact of the scholar-activist will be evaluated through evidence of the purposeful ways they are making social justice change (i.e. has their work created positive change for students, communities, and institutions towards equity).
A nomination letter including name, title, institution, mailing address, phone number, and e-mail address of the scholar-activist and parallel contact information for a representative(s) of the community partner. (Self-nominations are acceptable).
Two letters of support providing evidence of how the nominee has contributed to community activism related to issues of social justice in education. One letter must be from the community partner.
This new CESJ award recognizes the essential role mentorship plays in supporting critical scholarship. This award recognizes a scholar who has made distinguished contributions in the mentoring of PK-12 students, undergraduate, and graduate students, and/or junior scholars, as a means of helping to develop critical social justice scholars, educators, and activists.
Nominations must be submitted no later than 11:59 PM PST on February 1, 2019.
Two letters of reference providing evidence on how the nominee has mentored others in ways that promote social justice within and/or outside the academy.
Please submit all nomination materials within a single email sent to both Denisha Jones (denishajones@gmail.com) and Alison Dover (adover@fullerton.edu); incomplete nominations will not be reviewed.
Focus on social justice: Demonstrates commitment to the struggle for equity, human rights and/or democracy for diverse communities.
Commitment to revolutionary mentorship: Commits in words and actions to supporting other scholars and students through the academy in ways that encourage critical social justice engagement and radical self-care.
Creates supportive, inclusive environment for others: Takes action and risks within departments and other levels of the academy to dismantle oppressive structures and policies, address microaggressions, and promote the nurturing of colleagues and students.
Congratulations to the 2018 CESJ Award Winners!
Our list of winners for this year’s CESJ awards are shining examples of scholar activists, impactful leaders, and tremendous mentorship. Please take some time to read the work of these individuals, and if you cross paths with them, wish them congratulations!
Dr. Bailey Smolarek's dissertation study explored policies and practices in the education of Latina/o immigrants in U.S. high schools through an ‘anthropology of policy’ lens. The issues that Dr. Bailey engaged with are at the cutting edge of research at the intersection of educational policy and applied linguistics; she has done much-needed border crossing between the two fields. She has drawn on this duality of expertise not only theoretically, but also in shaping her design and executing her study. Her scholarship, through a close anthropological look at the impact of educational and language policy on this particular group of students, contributes to understandings of schooling policies and practices, and their impact on the lives and academic achievement of Latinx immigrants.
Dr. Rita Kohli is an Assistant Professor at the University of California Riverside in the Department of Education, Society, and Culture. She is the co-founder and co-director of the Institute for Teachers of Color Committed to Racial Justice ( ITOC ). Kohli also served a four year term as chair and program chair for the Critical Educators for Social Justice ( CESJ ). Her co-authored article "Teachers, please learn our names!: Racial Microagressions and the K-12 Classroom" (Kohli & Solórzano, 2012) was featured on PBS and NPR, and has been downloaded more than 5800 times.
This year’s CESJ award winners highlight the amazing and influential people our SIG attracts and the difference social justice educators can make in academia and their communities. We encourage you take a closer look at the work these individuals are doing.
Mary Hermes moved to the Lac Court Oreilles reservation during graduate school in 1993 where she spent 20 years raising her family and becoming immersed in the Ojibwe language. As a mixed-cultural-heritage person, Mary is proficient in the language and passionate about helping to return it to people like herself, whose ancestors spoke it for generations. She helped found the Waadookodaading School in Lac Court Oreilles and is the lead researcher for the Ojibwe Conversational Archives project. Today, her work takes her into the homes of elders recording the language. It also takes her into the homes of young families to investigate the effectiveness of various teaching methods and technologies.
Dissertation Title: Disrupting the Single Story: Cultivating More Complete Stories about Academically High Performing Young Black Men.
Sakeena Everett is the director of research and outreach for the College’s Black Male Early Literacy Impact Project. Her dissertation defined traits of Black male success in secondary education settings Her study began in an academic enrichment summer program for rising juniors that focused on understanding Black male success through narrative. Participants possessed GPAs of 3.0 or better, high ACT scores and eventual full-ride scholarships to college. Students engaged with critical theories of education to compose narratives describing their experiences in education, essays that in some cases served as college application material. After the summer program, she built on these writing experiences, working to equip her students with language to defend and define themselves. Her students read Paulo Freire’s “Pedagogy of the Oppressed” and scholarly journal articles, examining how research reflected—and did not reflect—their experiences as students. Everett tracked these students as they completed their high school education, interviewing students, teachers, administrators, friends and family to gain a nuanced understanding of how the students conceptualized their academic success and what informed and sustained these successes. She witnessed students’ confidence as writers growing as they progressed through these experiences.
This AERA-sanctioned award recognizes a dissertation of exemplary conceptual, methodological and rhetorical quality on an important topic that specifically and skillfully addresses social justice issues in education. Click on the button above for more information about past winners and how to submit an application.
This AERA-sanctioned award recognizes a junior, mid or advanced-career scholar-activist (Assistant, Associate or Full professor) who has made distinguished contributions linking scholarship with activism focused on issues of social justice to improve the educational conditions of students, families and/or communities. Click on the button above for more information about past winners and how to submit an application.