Social Justice, School & Society

Spring 2021

LAUNCH: Tuesdays, 11:00 - 11:50 p.m. via Zoom

DIG: Thursdays, 11:00 - 12:50 p.m. via Zoom

Instructor: Alissa Irvin             Email: airvin2@illinois.edu 

Office: All meetings will be facilitated remotely         Office Hours: By appointment

***Please note that emails on weekends, holidays (this includes academic breaks) or after 5pm will likely be answered the following academic weekday.***

Required Texts, Materials, or Equipment

• Love, B. L. (2019). We Want To Do More Than Survive: Abolitionist Teaching And the Pursuit of Educational Freedom. Beacon Press.
  
• Weekly, you will be provided with scholarly articles, blogs, chapters, and videos to read/view. 
  

Dear scholars,

Welcome to EDUC 202: Social Justice, School, and Society. My name is Alissa your instructor for section AD1.

I am a Curriculum & Instruction doctoral student with a concentration in curriculum research. My research interests are in Black girlhoods with particular interests in disrupting all forms of anti-Blackness in schooling and society and cultivating healing through pedagogy. My background in education is centered in social justice, teacher activism, trauma care and healing pedagogy. 

As stated in our course syllabus, "this is a foundations course that will expose you to a number of issues on which you will leave with a clearer understanding and the tools to take action.". We will utilize our DIG section as a space to authentically, respectfully, and critically engage in discourse guided by course materials, introduced in LAUNCH, and cultivated by lived experiences.

Please review weeks one and two on the main Moodle page (Dr. Ybarra's Moodle) as well as our section to familiarize yourself with the materials, content, and layout of the weeks. While I will do my best to keep to two page toggling to a minimum for you, as a practice, you will defer to Dr. Ybarra's Moodle page for access to all weekly course content, materials, any course updates and due dates. Our section's Moodle page will be used primarily for assignment submissions and supplemental resources and content referenced in our own DIG section.

Attendance in class is extremely important. Our most thought provoking DIG sessions occur when we are all both physically and mentally present and prepared. Please use your video as well as your first and last name on zoom for attendance purposes and so that I may become familiar with you all. 

Lastly, there is a self-assessment to complete this week. This is not graded but will help me in getting to know you as a student. You will complete these through the google link provided.

Please feel free to email me with any questions on the above.

I look forward to a thought-provoking semester with you all!

Alissa Irvin, Ed.M. 

Graduate Teaching Assistant | Curriculum and Instruction

University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

EDU 202 - Social Justice, School, and Society

airvin2@illinois.edu