About PsyVersity
This blog was created to be a space for psychology community members to connect with each other. Our individual stories should be celebrated, and this is a space for all our voices to be heard!
If you are interested in joining the team, contributing content, or leaving a comment on a post, please go here.
Statement of purpose
Understanding that “diversity is rooted in current and historical experiences of oppression and prejudice that have disproportionately devalued people of different identities including but not exclusive to races, cultures, ethnicities, sexual orientations, genders, gender-identifications, abilities, and socioeconomic statuses” (Psychology department diversity statement) and that the goal of DSC is to “encourage and foster growth and maintenance of diverse, equitable, and inclusive psychology community” by “fostering a welcoming and inclusive environment” (DSC goals), the purpose of this blog aligns with the values and goals of the department and the DSC.
One of the important ways to foster a welcoming and inclusive environment for the psychology community is to create a space for voices to be heard and amplified. This blog will serve to encourage dialogues and discussions on issues related to identity, diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Target audience
Psychology students, faculty, staff, as well as members of the wider community who are interested in issues related to diversity
Content can include (but is not limited to):
*Editor's preface
*Op-eds on relevant issues of concern, or topics of relevance
Personal narratives, stories (this can include stories that is significant for particular cultural groups; discussions/narratives on current political movements/events that can affect those that are connected to them; essentially, these are personal narratives of anything we “identify with”: races, cultures, ethnicities, sexual orientations, genders, gender-identifications, abilities, and socioeconomic statuses)
Interviews with community members on an identified theme (relevant issues or current topics, such as: education on diversity and racism in the psychological and neural sciences; Black history month, hispanic heritage history month, pride month etc.)
*Recommendations (books, research articles, outside sources of multimedia such as podcasts, talks that centers around anti-racism, history, narratives and inclusivity, that facilitate discussion and encourage education on the topic of racism and diversity in science)
*Celebration of experiences of community members (this can be celebrations of published articles or accomplishments, but can also include “small happiness” events like successfully baking a cake, adopting a pet, participating in a protest, speaking out, having an inspiring discussion with a community member, connecting with a group etc)
*Content that each issue will always include is marked with an asterisk.
Content that will NOT be included is:
Content such as bias reports or statistics on diversity or bias incidents, since there are existing resources for this available on the department website (here), but blog will provide links and highlight available resources
Opinion articles that DO NOT promote inclusivity or acknowledge diversity, including but not limited to narratives that are blatantly racist, transphobic, homophobic etc.
Frequency and format
Format of the content will take a traditional written blog form that updates on a rolling basis, and we value quality over quantity. Currently the blog does not including multimedia content like videos or podcasts. Newsletters will be sent out every month summarizing the newly published content of the previous month/update.
Responsibilities
Per update the main editor will contribute one op-ed that centers around a current issue/topic; editor (or team) will also be in charge of reaching out to various members of the community to gather narratives and opinions on any given issue that one may feel passionate about. (Each issue can have its own theme which the narratives and articles center upon, but can also be a collage of different topics if the material gathered do not fit into one theme.)
Narratives can be gathered via personal submission on this Google form, then edited (while in communication with the original author). In some cases, if a writer/contributor strongly wishes to remain anonymous their identity can be omitted in the final publication.
Collaborations
The blog can collaborate with other organizations or individuals who are interested in issues related to diversity and the BIPOC, LGBTQ+ community etc. This can include inviting guest writers, or interviewing guest speakers etc.
Evaluation
Feedback will be gathered at every update, distributed with Google forms sent through the departmental announcements.
Contact
For more questions, please contact Ariel Li (lxiny@uw.edu)
For questions regarding the Diversity Steering Committee, please contact: psychdsc@uw.edu