For Journal #1: Watch Dr. Smith’s lecture and write a response (~300 words) that highlights a point he makes or a question he poses. How would you extend or talk back to this point? Or how might you begin to respond to his question? If you listen to the Q&A discussion, what part of it do you want to continue? For those who choose to read Rosenberg, what connections might you draw from the experience of participating in UNE’s event and Rosenberg’s reflections on higher education?

Response: 

The thing that I wish to highlight from this discussion by Dr. Smith was the statement he made which was “Injustice is too pale a word in terms of race”.  This stood out to me because normally in today’s world this has become the most frequent term to describe why movements such as Black Lives Matter have occurred. Dr. Smith however points out that the history of the racialization of marginalized groups isn’t just injustice, but it is dehumanization. I thought about also what he said regarding the education system and that most of his students come into his course with a very surface view of the history of race.  I personally remember in my middle and high school education learning about slavery and that people, specifically African American’s, were treated inhumanly and were not considered equal, however the specific term of dehumanization wasn’t something that I remember being told. Especially not any of the examples of the individuals who were murdered simply because they didn’t look “correct” or were less than white people. From this talk I would want to learn and understand more from Dr. Smith. Some questions I have are does this language of using the term injustice instead of dehumanization need to change? In order for future generations to understand and continue to advocate for the end of the social construct of race, does this history need to taught differently and in more depth?