2016 See/Saw Festival
During the 2015-2016 academic year, along with community and university partners, University of Kansas Professionals for Inclusion and Social Justice (ISJ) guided the second annual See/Saw Festival. The theme for the 2016 See/Saw Festival was On the Brink: Borders, Boundaries, and Becoming. The festival theme focused on the concept of pushing and navigating ‘borders.’ We envisioned borders operating across multiple spheres, from geographical boundaries to individual and personal space and identity. The festival embodied my commitments to reciprocal partnerships, dialogic conscious-raising, and engagement in critical work with and alongside others.
The See/Saw Festival combined the annual ISJ Research Conference with a film festival, workshops, and community-wide social justice resolution. Highlights of the research conference included, Dr. Valerie Kinloch’s keynote address, Listening, Collaborating, and Acting: The Promise of Publicly Engaged Scholarship, an interactive poster symposium, a theme-based panelist dialogue, and multidisciplinary break-out sessions. The film component of the Festival spanned university and community locations, included short- and full-length films, and incorporated moderators and discussants from a myriad of university disciplines and community sectors. In occupying these public spaces with courage and care, we hoped to facilitate critical conversations, navigating the positive and negative aspects of navigating ‘on the brink.’ Our intent was to build our local capacity for social change, as we furthered our collective efforts toward equity, justice, inclusion, and access.
The See/Saw Festival combined the annual ISJ Research Conference with a film festival, workshops, and community-wide social justice resolution. Highlights of the research conference included, Dr. Valerie Kinloch’s keynote address, Listening, Collaborating, and Acting: The Promise of Publicly Engaged Scholarship, an interactive poster symposium, a theme-based panelist dialogue, and multidisciplinary break-out sessions. The film component of the Festival spanned university and community locations, included short- and full-length films, and incorporated moderators and discussants from a myriad of university disciplines and community sectors. In occupying these public spaces with courage and care, we hoped to facilitate critical conversations, navigating the positive and negative aspects of navigating ‘on the brink.’ Our intent was to build our local capacity for social change, as we furthered our collective efforts toward equity, justice, inclusion, and access.