IAP 2017 Activities by Category - Diversity and Inclusion

Ora Gladstone

Jan/29

Sun

09:00AM-12:00PM

Lobby W11 - RAC, No jeans please

Enrollment: Unlimited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/27
Prereq: RSVP ora@mit.edu 617-610-1060

Join the Addir Fellows Interfaith Dialogue on our visit to St. Paul's AME.

Meet 9:00am Lobby - W11.  RSVP - ora@mit.edu, 617-610-1060

Sponsor(s): Chaplain to the Institute, Addir Fellows Interfaith Dialogue
Contact: Ora Gladstone, W11-035, 617-610-1060, ora@mit.edu

ASL and Deaf Culture Officers

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/08
Attendance: Participants must attend all sessions
Fee: $20.00 for enrollment

The ASL and Deaf Culture @ MIT is proud to announce that we will be offering a beginner's ASL class during IAP.

A series of 8 classes will be held on-campus (location TBD) on Mondays and Wednesdays from 3:30PM-5:00PM, starting January 9, 2017. The list of dates are: Jan. 9, Jan. 11, Jan. 16, Jan. 18, Jan. 23, Jan. 25, Jan. 30, Feb. 1.

Enrollment is limited and we are requiring that ASL students pay $20 (once) to participate in the course. If this price prevents you from being able to join the class, please get in touch with goretkin@mit.edu

This ASL class will be taught by a Deaf instructor who has taught ASL at MIT several times in the last few years.

If you are interested, please sign up: https://tinyurl.com/mit-asl-iap-2017-iap

Sponsored by the Office of the Dean for Graduate Education

Sponsor(s): American Sign Language and Deaf Culture Club
Contact: American Sign Language and Deaf Culture officers, asl-officers@mit.edu

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class

Jan/09	Mon	03:30PM-05:00PM	on-campus TBD
Jan/11	Wed	03:30PM-05:00PM	on-campus TBD
Jan/16	Mon	03:30PM-05:00PM	on-campus TBD
Jan/18	Wed	03:30PM-05:00PM	on-campus TBD
Jan/23	Mon	03:30PM-05:00PM	on-campus TBD
Jan/25	Wed	03:30PM-05:00PM	on-campus TBD
Jan/30	Mon	03:30PM-05:00PM	on-campus TBD
Feb/01	Wed	03:30PM-05:00PM	on-campus TBD

ASL and Deaf Culture Officers

Kathy Cahill, Associate Dean, Accessibility and Usability

Feb/02

Thu

12:00PM-02:00PM

7-143

Enrollment: Limited: First come, first served (no advance sign-up)
Prereq: None

The Assistive Technology Information Center opens its doors to show visitors the latest in commercially available assistive technologies for people with disabilities.  We will demonstrate

• text readers
• magnification devices
• screen reading software
• voice recognition software

 Learn about ways to make your website and documents more accessible to people with disabilities.  See examples of tactile diagrams and other ways to make information accessible. 

 

Sponsor(s): ATIC Lab
Contact: Kathleen Cahill, 7-143, 617 253-5111, KCAHILL@MIT.EDU

Sebastian Garza, Secular Society of MIT, President, Sohan Dsouza, Secular Society of MIT, Editor of The Reason Review, Adam Reynolds, Blue Ocean Faith Chaplain

Feb/01

Wed

07:00PM-09:00PM

TBD

Enrollment: Unlimited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/30

MIT is a place of discovery; sometimes we discover that that our beliefs and values have shifted. Maybe we even find ourselves shedding one identity and embracing another. A significant chunk of people at MIT are leaving or have left Christianity to explore and embrace a more secular approach to life. For some this transition may happen naturally and smoothly; for others it may be significantly difficult and painful.

The exit process is often made worse by things like preachy, dogmatic threats of eternal punishment, social ostracism, severed friendships and lots of attempts to persuade and argue instead of sincere listening. Arrogance, self-righteousness and certitude leave little room for honest doubt, healthy skepticism and true exploration of what’s compelling and meaningful.

In this special IAP event, the Secular Society of MIT will offer a warm welcome into community to those exploring secularism while one of MIT’s Christian chaplains will offer parting words of blessing and affirmation to those whose authentic journey is leading them out of Christianity. There will also be a time for sharing stories of leaving faith and offering support for those who are in a spiritual transition or contemplating one.

Plus FREE DINNER and DESSERT!

You can register for this event here.

 

Sponsor(s): Secular Society of MIT, Blue Ocean Faith
Contact: Adam Reynolds, ADAM1@MIT.EDU

Ora Gladstone

Feb/03

Fri

04:00PM-08:00PM

Meet in Lobby W11

Enrollment: Unlimited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 02/01
Prereq: RSVP and cell #-need to know who's coming

Join the Addir Fellows Interfaith Dialogue as we visit 2 very different Friday night/welcoming-the-Sabbath services: 1) 4:40pm Young Israel of Brookline (Orthodox/Traditional - ID required, cell phones off, no electronics/photos, women-no slacks). 2) 6:15pm Temple Beth Zion (Spiritual, New Age, song-filled) followed by a kiddush/light meal.  Call Ora 617-610-1060 to participate and for meeting instructions.

Sponsor(s): Chaplain to the Institute, Addir Fellows Interfaith Dialogue
Contact: Ora Gladstone, W11-035, 617-610-1060, ora@mit.edu

Ora Gladstone

Jan/27

Fri

11:45AM-03:00PM

Meet in Lobby W11

Enrollment: Unlimited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/25

Join the Addir Fellows Interfaith Dialogue on our trip to the I.S.B.C.C. (Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center) for the weekly sermon, Jum'ah/Friday prayer, and a tour of this beautiful center. Women head scarf and no bare arms please.  So we know you are coming - ora@mit.edu at 617-610-1060 by 1/27/16

Sponsor(s): Chaplain to the Institute, Addir Fellows Interfaith Dialogue
Contact: Ora Gladstone, W11-035, 617-610-1060, ora@mit.edu

Alena McNamara, Librarian for the School of Architecture & Planning, Michelle Baildon, Liaison to the Science, Technology, & Society Program, Anna Boutin, Librarian for the School of Architecture & Planning

Jan/31

Tue

01:00PM-03:00PM

2-147

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/30
Limited to 20 participants

MIT students have been involved with activism for decades. While the most well-recorded protests are those of the 1960s and 1970s against the Vietnam War, MIT students have stood up for what they believe in throughout the Institute's history. In addition, students of color, LGBTQ students, Black students, and international students have all had to establish their claims to equal space in the Institute. The Institute Archives and Special Collections preserves documentation of the history of the Institute, including many activist efforts by students, faculty and staff. Join us to learn about the struggle for equity and inclusion inside and outside of MIT.

Please pre-register here.

Sponsor(s): Libraries
Contact: Alena McNamara, 7-238, 617 258-5593, AMCNAMAR@MIT.EDU

Preeta Bansal, Visiting Scholar

Jan/12

Thu

01:00PM-04:30PM

E14-240

Enrollment: Limited: First come, first served (no advance sign-up)
Limited to 18 participants

This course will provide an opportunity for deep personal reflection, in connection with others, around recent political events – notably, the U.S. Presidential election and the Brexit vote, as well as recent events in India, the Philippines, and elsewhere that have arguably signaled widespread populist unrest and disruption of governance-as-usual.  These events have brought to the forefront issues of economic class, race, gender, national and religious identity, as well as the strengths and weaknesses of democratic institutions to address such issues. 

This course will not be conducted in a traditional classroom or seminar format, but rather as a circle, where students share ideas and emotional meanings drawn from personal experience, practice deep listening, and engage in self-reflection while in community with one another.  The emphasis is on relationship-building, respectful dialogue, and personal “meaning excavation” and sharing.  A circle process has been cited as a critical tool in nurturing the habits that form the basis for meaningful self-governance and democracy.

 

 

 

 

 

Contact: Heather Pierce, E14-526B, 617 324-4914, HAC@MEDIA.MIT.EDU

Nora Murphy, Archivist for Reference, Instruction and Outreach

Jan/13

Fri

02:00PM-03:30PM

14N-118, Bring your laptop

Enrollment: Register at: http://libcal.mit.edu/event/3064423
Sign-up by 01/12
Limited to 20 participants

International students have attended since at least the second year the MIT offered courses (1866/7). Between 1866 and 1900, almost 200 students from at least 38 countries attended the Institute as special (non-degree) or regular (degree) students. They served as conduits for cultural and academic experiences that informed and enriched both their home and host countries.

The Institute Archives and Special Collections staff has created a list of international student from 1866 to 1940 from students listed in the course catalogs and student directories. Find out who from outside of the U.S. attended MIT, which countries they called home, and how to use resources in the Institute Archives and Special Collections to gather information about some of these students. 

The first 30 minutes will be spent learning about the resources in the Institute Archives and Special Collections and other resources at MIT to find information about individual students and how to use those resources. During the last hour participants can gather information about individual students.

 

Sponsor(s): Libraries
Contact: Nora Murphy, 14N-118, 617 253-5690, NMURPHY@MIT.EDU

Adam Reynolds, Blue Ocean Faith Chaplain

Jan/25

Wed

07:00PM-08:30PM

5-231

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/23
Limited to 20 participants

The Heretic's Club is a new IAP series combining good food and good conversation on spirituality, religion and the big questions of life. As the name would imply, diverse viewpoints and backgrounds are welcome and the doors are wide open to non-traditional and outside-the-box ways of thinking.

Jesus: “The Way” OR “in the way”? (Dinner)

A large percentage of people lean toward believing in some kind of “God”. In the U.S. and elsewhere, many people have also been exposed to various expressions of Christianity where belief in God is equated with belief in Jesus as “God’s Son,” “the savior of the world,” “fully God and fully man,” etc. While Jesus as either myth or historical figure has much to recommend him, many people take issue with the idea that those who have faith in Jesus are “saved” while all others are damned for all eternity. This is sometimes called “the problem of exclusivity” and it is, understandably, a dealbreaker for many people. Are there other paradigms that might disrupt this impasse? What about other world religions? How do they and how can they relate to faith in Jesus?

While not claiming to have any definitive answers, this Heretic’s Club conversation will hazard directly into this tension with hopes of promoting more inclusivity and less divisiveness.

Includes free dinner!

Please register here.

Other Heretic's Club Sessions:

• Somewhere between Faith and Atheism (Dinner) - Wed. 1/18, 1:00-2:30 PM
• Science and Spirituality (Lunch) - Tues. 1/24, 1:00-2:30 PM

 

Sponsor(s): Blue Ocean Faith
Contact: Adam Reynolds, W11-011, ADAM1@MIT.EDU

Adam Reynolds, Blue Ocean Faith

Jan/24

Tue

01:00PM-02:30PM

5-231

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/23
Limited to 20 participants

The Heretic's Club is a new IAP series combining good food and good conversation on spirituality, religion and the big questions of life. As the name would imply, diverse viewpoints and backgrounds are welcome and the doors are wide open to non-traditional and outside-the-box ways of thinking.

Science and Spirituality (Lunch)

Have you ever had your breath taken away by a mountain-top view or an incredible piece of music? Have you ever felt goosebumps from an equation that captures a physical observation or from the biochemistry of DNA? Science is alive with the sacred and our lives are pregnant with purpose and meaning. Yet we often compartmentalize our intellectual and spiritual selves into different boxes, imposing barriers that limit and constrain us. How can we move towards integration of our scientific and spiritual selves and gravitate towards being whole, authentic people?

In this Heretic’s Club discussion, we’ll explore potential points of harmony between science and spirituality such as wonder, beauty, creativity and awareness. We’ll also brainstorm and compare notes on various spiritual practices that actually fit into the MIT lifestyle and promote spiritual thriving.

Includes free lunch!

Please register here.

Other Heretic's Club Sessions:

• Somewhere between Faith and Atheism (Dinner) - Wed. 1/18, 1:00-2:30 PM
• Jesus: “The Way” OR “in the way”? (Dinner) - Wed. 1/25, 7:00-8:30 PM 

 

Sponsor(s): Blue Ocean Faith
Contact: Adam Reynolds, W11-011, ADAM1@MIT.EDU

Adam Reynolds, Blue Ocean Faith Chaplain

Jan/18

Wed

07:00PM-08:30PM

5-231

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/16
Limited to 20 participants

The Heretic's Club is a new IAP series combining good food and good conversation on spirituality, religion and the big questions of life. As the name would imply, diverse viewpoints and backgrounds are welcome and the doors are wide open to non-traditional and outside-the-box ways of thinking.

Somewhere between Faith and Atheism (Dinner)

These days many people find themselves somewhere in the gray area between having faith in a divine being and being convinced that there is no God. The religious side of things may feel too rigid, dogmatic, intolerant and exclusive while the secular side may feel too closed-off to wonder and spiritual experience and/or perhaps too isolated from positive and supporting community. Not fitting into either category can leave some people feeling “spiritually homeless”—especially those who appreciate having active spiritual engagement and community as a part of their life. What sort of opportunities and possibilities are there for those of us who live in this kind of ambiguity and yet still crave spiritual engagement?

This Heretic’s Club session will provide no definitive answers! Yet we think there will be a lot of value in exploring this topic together and sharing our own stories of embarking on an unscripted spiritual journey.

Includes free dinner!

Please register here.

Other Heretic's Club Sessions:

• Science and Spirituality (Lunch) - Tues. 1/24, 1:00-2:30 PM
• Jesus: “The Way” OR “in the way”? (Dinner) - Wed. 1/25, 7:00-8:30 PM

 

Sponsor(s): Blue Ocean Faith
Contact: Adam Reynolds, W11-011, ADAM1@MIT.EDU

Rhonda Kauffman, Bibliographic Metadata Associate, MIT Libraries

Jan/10

Tue

04:00PM-06:00PM

4-253, Bring writing/art/supplies

Enrollment: Limited: Advance sign-up required
Sign-up by 01/04
Limited to 25 participants

Zines (rhymes with “beans”) are independently- and often self-published, photocopied, cut and paste publications created for passion rather than profit. They have roots in 1950s sci-fi, punk rock, riot grrrl, and underground scenes. They are made for trading, communicating and sharing and cover any topic under the sun, including Dr. Who’s Authority Record, cats, social justice, cooking, parenting, and Morrissey.

In this workshop, we will explore the instructor's personal zine collection from the 1990s to today, and learn about the history of zines, their use in academic research, current trends in zine librarianship, the mechanics of making zines, and, of course, we’ll make a zine!

Attendees are encouraged to bring writings/art/craft supplies, etc. that can be used to create a zine. The instructor will provide supplies (paper, stamps, markers, stickers, old magazines, craft paper, pens, staplers, glue sticks).

Register here: http://libcal.mit.edu/event/3004993

Sponsor(s): Libraries
Contact: Rhonda Kauffman, 14E-210, 617 253-0695, RHONDA@MIT.EDU