News and Upcoming Events
See a list of upcoming and past events organised by the Anti-Racism Working Group at the bottom of this page.
Featured:
The Anti-Racism Working Group at the University of York write a blog post for the Department of Politics and International Relations about the 2023 conference.
The Anti-Racism Working Group win the Vice Chancellor's Inclusivity Award from the University of York for their work on the 2023 conference.
The Anti-Racism Working Group are co-recipients of the Athena Swan Initiative Award 2022-23 from the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of York.
Decentering Whiteness Workshop
Thursday 8th February 1-2:30pm
In this workshop, we will hear from two incredible speakers who will reflect on their experiences of navigating and indeed, decentering whiteness in academic environments. We are delighted to be joined by Professor Divine Charura (YSJ, School of Education, Language and Psychology) and Dr Karisha George (UoY, Department of Psychology).
Following our speaker contributions, attendees will be encouraged to reflect on their experiences and strategies for ‘decentering whiteness’ for the final hour. Please prepare for this by sharing any notes/written pieces/blogs/artwork with us beforehand, which we can disseminate to the attendee list.
Event Schedule:
1pm- Short Introduction from the Anti-Racism Working Group.
1-1:15pm- Reflections from Divine Charura.
1:15-1:30pm- Reflections from Karisha George.
1:30-2:30pm- Interactive Audience Discussion led by the Anti-Racism Working Group.
2:30pm- Event close.
Following the online event, we plan to create a co-constructed ‘Manifesto’ which will be made available on our website as a tool for best practice. All attendees who wish to be included in this piece will be credited and named as co-authors. A draft of the Manifesto will be shared with all attendees for review and to confirm that they consent to their inclusion as a named author.
The ARWG has an online blog platform whereby PhD students and Early Career researchers are invited to publish 800-word pieces on a monthly basis. If you would like to submit a blog for our March 2024 on the topic of discussion for the workshop (Decentering Whiteness), please drop us an email on antiracismworkinggroup@gmail.com. We particularly encourage reflexive and autoethnographic submissions for our March 2024 issue.
Speaker Information:
Professor Divine Charura: Is a HCPC-registered Counselling Psychologist and UKCP registered Psychtherapist. Divine holds a BSc (Hons) in Counselling and Therapeutic Studies, and an MSc degree Public Health and Health Promotion and another MA degree in Psychotherapy. He completed his Doctorate in Counselling Psychology at Teesside University.
Divine has worked as a clinician in a range of clinical settings including the NHS, voluntary and private sectors, in both inpatient and outpatient settings. Prior to joining York St John University as a Professor in Counselling Psychology and programme director for the Doctorate in Counselling Psychology, he worked at Leeds Beckett University where he worked for 10 years. He initially started out my teaching career as a lecturer, then as a senior lecturer in counselling and psychotherapy and then later as a course director for all the postgraduate courses offered within the Psychological Therapies and Mental Health Team.
Dr Karisha George: Karisha Kimone George began her tertiary education in Trinidad and Tobago completing her undergraduate in Psychology and Sociology at the University of the West Indies. She then moved to the United Kingdom to complete her Masters in Applied Forensic Psychology and PhD in Psychology at the University or York. She came to the University of York in 2021 after completing her first Post-Doctoral position at Newman University followed by her first lectureship at De Montfort University. Her favourite word is 'predicament', but only when spoken in exactly the same manner as John Travolta in 'Face Off'. Her research interests are varied and include -
Student resilience: how students adapt to their university experiences
Thinking patterns: understanding the impact of thinking patterns and their complexity such as meaning making or negative/positive thinking
Religiosity: exploring the impact of conceptualisations of Gods/deities on mental health and well-being
Narrative approach: exploring what individuals’ narratives can tell us about their levels of well-being
Protective factors: understanding the meaning making processes through which protective factors buffer individuals during times of stress
Criminal behaviour: examining the relationship between mental illness and criminal behaviour
Upcoming events:
2024: The 2nd 'Race' and Socially Engaged Research Conference - June 2024, University of York
Events we have recently organised and co-organised:
2024: Decentering Whiteness Online and Interactive Workshop - with Professor Divine Charura and Dr Karisha George - see our Manifesto resulting from this event
2023: Making Anti-Racism, Inclusivity and Radical Action Our Priority - drinks reception for the 2023 conference
2023: Inaugural 'Race' and Socially Engaged Research Conference - Disrupting Structural Racism and Building Communities of Dissent through Transformative Research - sponsored by Professor Kiran Trehan (Pro-Vice-Chancellor for Partnerships and Engagement at the University of York and Director of the Centre for Women’s Enterprise, Leadership, Economy and Diversity, University of York); Professor Matthew Reason (Director of the Institute for Social Justice, York St John University); the Social Policy Association (SPA); the White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership (WRDTP); Department of Politics (University of York); Research Centre for Social Sciences (University of York)
2023: Combatting Racism, Ableism and Sexism in Education - in partnership with the Disabled Student's Network, the BAME network and the Department of Politics at the University of York
2022: Avoiding Complicity, Understanding Responsibility: Training on Positionality, Power and Reflexivity in the Early Career Stages - in collaboration with the White Rose Doctoral Training Partnership (WRDTP)
2022: ‘Stop War’ panel event - in collaboration with the Stop War Coalition