This workshop invites participants to think about Anti-Black Racism and its intersections with other matters of inclusivity, diversity, accessibility, and equity. Through a series of discussions and exercises, participants will learn about identifying privileges, how to identify and address subtle acts of exclusion (microaggressions), and some of the intricacies and complications involved in sharing power in educational contexts. Everyone will leave the workshop with practical strategies to implement subtle acts of inclusion in their teaching practice – small actions that, collectively, can lead to significant change.

This workshop invites participants to consider the practical realities and challenges of decolonizing our classrooms: unravelling language and practices that reinforce oppression in terms of race, class, gender, sexuality, ability, and indigeneity in our teaching. Participants will be introduced to some of the fundamental concepts, learn strategies fellow educators have used to decolonize their classrooms, use key concepts in exercises and discussions, and leave with strategies they can begin applying in their own work as educators.

How might our assumptions about socio-economic status exclude, marginalize, and disadvantage students? In this workshop, participants will be invited to reflect on how common assumptions and practices disadvantage students who do not enjoy economic privilege - then, with guidance from the facilitators, plan concrete strategies they can implement for greater inclusion.

How can emotion be harnessed to improve the educational experience - both for our students and ourselves? Focusing specifically on students and faculty who are marginalized or excluded, but very relevant ​also to those who are not, to all, this workshop invites participants to discuss the emotional effects of racialization, colonization, and other forms of marginalization on students and faculty alike, the power of emotional arousal, and the importance of identifying and processing our own emotional responses and vulnerabilities so we can create inclusive lea​rning environ​ments. Participants will leave with concrete strategies for productively managing, processing, and channelling emotion as part of an inclusive teaching mindset.

How do we inadvertently exclude and marginalize our queer and trans students - and what could we do to teach more inclusively? In this workshop, participants will have the opportunity to reflect on information about the experiences of queer and trans students, reflect on paralells between their experiences and other forms of exclusion, and discuss concrete strategies they can apply to create more inclusive educational practices in and out of the classroom.

What could happen if, instead of merely talking about accessibility or calling others out for inaccessible practices, we became the change we wish to see in the university? That is, what if we focused more on the ethos of accessibility? This workshop invites participants to reflect on ways in which they can model accessibility in and out of the classroom, using a variety of lenses drawn from personal experiences. Participants will be invited to think through how they could adapt concrete strategies to their own educational practice.

We have been asked to answer the call for social justice in the classroom and on campus – to engage inclusively with different ways of knowing and of being. Our ability to respond to the call and work towards transformation may be influenced by our agency: the personal power and motivation we have concerning our lives as educators. To explore this idea, this workshop proposes several questions: how did we arrive to working in higher education? What were our intentions in joining the academy? Where do we sit within the institution? What are our experiences navigating the inevitable challenges we encounter along the way? Answering the questions begins our journey to understanding how can we lean into the discomfort of transformation in higher education when challenging the status quo is considered risky and requiring vulnerability.

In this 2-hour workshop, participants will explore their experiences of both exclusion and inclusion through an intersectionality framework. Together, participants will identify opportunities for collaborative and individual acts of inclusivity to challenge the educational hierarchy status quo in the classroom and on campus. Participants will leave the workshop with ideas that can be put into practice both immediately and in the long term.

In a prior iteration of Leaning into the Discomfort, we focused on transformation in higher education to answer the calls for social justice, sharing our experiences of both exclusion and inclusion through an intersectionality lens, identifying areas for change.

We will continue our efforts to lean into the discomfort by creating positionality and inclusivity statements based upon our unique experiences, honouring our approaches in teaching, learning, and research, reflecting our intentions to support the goals of social justice in higher education.