« 2004 Bushwhacked: Queering Borders and Boundaries in the Lone Star State | Main | Resolution: Working Conditions »
October 26, 2004
2005 Affirming Action: The Progressive SIG/Caucus Coalition (PSCC)
For the past five years, the PSCC has worked to form a common space where different SIG and Caucus groups can meet to discuss how their different concerns can be wedded into a common agenda. In doing so, the goal has been to foster a sense of communal activism which crosses any particular interest group. It has sponsored forums which bring the different groups into dialogue as well as worked to support each group’s individual initiatives. The success of this work can be seen both in the large and diverse attendance at PSCC events as well as it success at having resolutions and programs adopted by CCCC. PSCC membership now includes American Indian, Asian/Asian American, Gay/Lesbian, Labor, Latino, Non-Tenure Track, and Working Class SIGS and Caucuses.
The theme of “Affirmative Action,� however, provides an opportunity for the PSCC to address fundamental concepts of its origins and its actions. The PSCC wants to use this occasion, that is, to have its members reflect upon the activism which has marked their organization and to project what set of issues should guide future work for the coalition. An emergent concern, for instance, is the ways in which labor policies cut across ethnic, class, and sexual orientation populations. Considering how issues of labor interact with concerns about hiring and retaining minority faculty will also be addressed. The question for the PSCC in San Francisco, then, concerns affirming action: What are the central concerns cutting across our membership groups? What will it mean for PSCC to take action to address those concerns?
To foster such work, a roundtable format has been chosen. The initial three speakers will highlight the work of their individual SIG/Caucuses to advance the pedagogical, professional, and political goals of its members. As stated above, a central theme will be the role of labor. Three respondents will then highlight the ways such work shares common themes and goals. General discussion will follow.
Posted by sparks at October 26, 2004 9:26 PM