FASS 214 - Exploring EDI: This Is My Story

Be an agent for change

Using life narratives, students will explore the roots of the systems and structures that limit the opportunites for individuals and communities in Canada. With a focus on the memoirs of authors who are Black, Indigenous and People of Colour (BIPOC), students will learn what it means to negotiate life as a member of a minority group, marginalized community, and as an immigrant. In this way, students will be encouraged to reflect on the experiences of others and the ways in which others interact with issues of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). With this empathetic approach, students will be asked to consider their roles as change agents in making EDI in their disciplines, professions, and careers a matter of substance rather than performance.

FASS 214 runs May 11 to June 8, 2023. Complete before the workload of your other classes kick in!


Register now. Space is limited.

Summer 2023 course outline →

What you will learn and when it is offered

What you'll learn

  1. Assemble a framework to assess and interpret life narratives
  2. Learn how members of a minority group or marginalized community negotiate life in Canada
  3. Identify the structures that limit the opportunities of BIPOC as told in memoirs
  4. Reflect on the experience of others and the ways in which they interact with issues of equity, diversity and inclusion
  5. Consider meaningful change agency in mobilizing for equity, diversity and inclusion.

When it is offered

Location: Burnaby Campus

Thursdays

  • May 11
  • May 18
  • May 25
  • June 1
  • June 8

Time:

  • 3:30 pm - 6:20 pm

Course instructor

Reema Faris

Reema Faris is a PhD candidate with the Department of Gender, Sexuality, and Women’s Studies (GSWS) at Simon Fraser University (SFU). She holds an MA in Graduate Liberal Studies from SFU, a BA, and MBA from other Canadian universities and has worked as a Teaching Assistant in various SFU departments. Her 2017 TEDxGastownWomen presentation demonstrates her interest in popular culture and feminism and her most recent research inquiry centres on the figure of the woman reader. Before resuming her academic career, Ms. Faris served one term as Trustee for the West Vancouver Board of Education after many years as a communications professional with a variety of public and private sector organizations. She is also a mother who is guiding a fourth-year undergraduate through life as an artist. A past member of Vancouver Opera’s Board of Directors and a Philosophers’ Café moderator, she is an avid traveller, a chocolate enthusiast, and often dreams of Paris.

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