Workshop Abstracts

This session will provide attendees with strategies for incorporating children's and adolescent literature featuring LGBTQIA+ characters in their classrooms. Attendees will learn how to make classrooms and schools safer spaces by making LGBTQIA+ identities visible and valued in the curriculum through literature. Attendees will be able to explore examples of a variety of children's and young adult literature and discuss applications in their classrooms.

Autumn Dodge, Associate Professor of Language and Literacy Education

Victoria Hobson, Assistant Professor of Elementary Education

This session will address the intricate relationships between psychology, discrimination, and support within the LGBTQIA+ community. Focusing on the emotional experiences of individuals and the challenges they encounter. We will provide practical guidance for allies endeavoring to foster understanding and acceptance and discuss personal struggles associated with coming out and the apprehensions LGBTQIA+ individuals may experience when seeking counseling or support. We will dive into the delicate issue of counseling avoidance within the LGBTQIA+ community due to fear of judgment. The goal is to cultivate a more inclusive and affirming mental healthcare environment, offering insights for providers and those seeking support. This session will promote empathy, understanding, and actionable steps toward establishing a more compassionate and inclusive society for the LGBTQIA+ community.

Virginia Cylke, Professor of Psychological Science

Recent book bans have taken a toll on libraries, advocates, and readers.  In this session we will talk about ways to support and uphold the freedom to read and kick censorship to the curb!

Jenny Horton, Director of the Library

This presentation will focus on historical high points in the continuing struggle of the LGBTQIA+ community for rights, recognition and respect, both in the United States and in Germany. Some of these high points (Höhepunkte) are more familiar, but many are surprising. Who knew that the first Institute of Sexology, whose founder Magnus Hirschfeld was one of the first advocates for homosexual and transgender rights, was established in 1920s Berlin? Or that Hirschfeld developed his theory about the universality–and normalcy–of homosexuality while living within and studying the gay subculture in Chicago toward the end of the 19th century? Finding out more about the parallels and connections between the LGBTQIA+ fight for rights in both the U.S. and Germany gives us strength and perspective for the continuing struggle. 

Alicia Carter, Associate Professor of German and Spanish

Although it is essential to focus on honoring the full personhood of those around us, aspects sometimes overlooked in allyship practices at the institutional level include the value of fostering self-compassion and reflective wellness. We cannot best serve those around us until we attend to our own well-being, including spending time in critical self-reflection and thoughtful engagement with our own cultural worldviews. In this interactive conversation, guided by the Wheel of Wellness, we will look at the connection between self-compassion and cultural responsiveness, and consider how adopting a more inclusive view of our own wellness can enhance our ability to support those around us who embody the beautiful diversity present in the constellation of cultural identities.

Learning Objectives:

• Develop Self-Compassion and Reflective Wellness: Participants will cultivate self-compassion and reflective wellness as essential components of effective allyship. We will explore techniques and strategies to enhance personal well-being, including critical self-reflection and engagement with personal cultural worldviews.

• Recognize the Interplay of Self-Compassion and Cultural Responsiveness: Attendees will gain an understanding of the intricate relationship between self-compassion and cultural responsiveness. Through guided discussions and practical exercises using the Wheel of Wellness, we will discover how these elements intersect and contribute to more empathetic and inclusive allyship practices.

• Inclusive Wellness Practices in Allyship: Participants will leave with actionable insights on how adopting a broader perspective of personal wellness can positively impact our ability to support individuals from diverse cultural identities. Through the integration of  inclusive wellness practices in our allyship efforts, we can ultimately foster a more inclusive and empathetic community. 

Sara Bailey, Assistant Professor of Counseling

Colby M. Takacs, Instructor of Health Promotion

This talk will explore the challenges that the Queer community encounters when exploring religion/spirituality, as well as ways to create inclusive spiritual spaces for the LGBTQIA+ community. 

Objectives:

•Learn about the challenges the LGBTQIA+ community faces in places of worship.

•Learn about spiritual individuals who have challenged exclusions from spiritual spaces. 

•Learn practices to create safe and inclusive spiritual spaces. 

Jer Bryant, Director of the Wilmer Writing Center, Assistant Professor of English, and Interfaith Chaplain

What do you say when someone "comes out" to you? How do you respond? What do you say to them? How can you support them? Join me to talk more about these questions and how to develop your own strategies for answering them. Through my own personal journey, I will share with you some of my own thoughts and ideas on how to support those around you who may "come out" to you as well as allowing you a personal insight to my own "coming out" story.  

Meg Dillon, Executive Director of the Advising & Academic Resource Center

This talk aims to assist healthcare workers, especially athletes, in caring for  those who identify as LGBTQIA+ The following objectives describe the focal points of the lecture:

• Describe the potential sociocultural environments experienced by persons in the LGBTQIA+ community.

• Discover your own biases related to discrimination in heathcare.

• Recognize the healthcare disparities of LGBTQIA+ persons and how they affect clinical practice.

• Create an environment of inclusivity and respect for those in the LGBTQIA+ community.

• Integrate best practices in providing equitable healthcare to LGBTQIA+ patients, including proper referrals related to this population. 

Patricia Aronson, Professor of Athletic Training