IMPACT Academy Training Sessions
The following training sessions are led by IMPACT Academy Trainers. In addition to registering for these workshops when offered, you may also request these training sessions for your department or unit.
You are encouraged to participate in as many of these training sessions as you can. As you grow in your personal journey toward understanding bias and racism, your IMPACT on the campus community intensifies, ultimately leading us to a campus that models true inclusion, equity and social justice.
IMPACT Academy Workshop Descriptions
IMPACT Academy suggests a series of workshops. We recommend starting with the workshop titled, “Understanding Multiple Identities” and having “Discovering the Seeds of Bias” as the second IMPACT workshop.
Understanding Multiple Identities
This workshop will increase one’s knowledge of the definitions and concepts surrounding multiple identities, social power, social groups, privilege, target, border and oppression. Through activities and discussion, participants are challenged to increase their understanding of the intersections that occur between oppression and the external manifestations of oppression.
Discovering the Seeds of Bias
This workshop is an interactive introduction to one’s unique story of identity and how one’s socialization influences implicit bias. Through activities and discussion, participants are challenged to increase awareness of how the messages of socialization play out for different social identities. This workshop will give participants insights into their own experiences and roles related to oppression.
Suggested additional workshops include but are not limited to:
IMPACT Academy Players: Theater for Social Change
An ensemble of professional actors and students write and perform original vignettes on topics such as bias, microaggressions, privilege and anti-racism that can be performed at department meetings, in classrooms or other approved settings. These interactive modules encourage audience participation to deepen the experience of all involved.
Deconstructing Binary Thinking around Gender
The gender binary is a western-centric limiting concept that prohibits freedom of self-expression. Because gender as a binary is a social construction, we can deconstruct and reconstruct gender to be more inclusive. Workshop participants will leave with a new or more complex understanding of gender, including how binary thinking is a relic of colonialism.
Oppression and Bias in Healthcare Professionals
Healthcare professionals with direct patient and client care responsibilities will learn to foster behavior changes to reduce oppressive practices on individual and systemic levels. Participants will increase awareness of multiple personal identities and the influences/impacts on oppressive practices. They will identify behavior changes to reduce oppressive practices to provide equitable healthcare. Participants will focus on the common goal of delivering quality, equitable healthcare practices as a motivation for behavior change and reducing oppression.
Geographic Social Identity Dynamics at SIUE
This workshop offers participants an opportunity to explore the multiple facets of geographic social identity (e.g., seeing oneself as rural, urban, suburban, Illinoisan, Missourian, St. Louisan, Chicago native, etc.). Participants will explore how that self-described identity impacts their experience within the SIUE community and equitable access to campus resources. This has implications for interpersonal exploration of self, allowing individuals to confront and explore the dynamics around how geographic social identity shapes students, faculty, staff, campus institutional identity, cross-cultural assumptions and campus community engagement.
From Ally to Accomplice
This workshop will introduce participants to the concepts of actor, ally and accomplice, then lead them through a process (the Cycle of Liberation) to identify areas where they can move from actor to ally and ally to accomplice for self-identified social identities. This workshop will focus and highlight ways to weaponize privilege in areas where participants have agent social identities. However, we will discuss how actor, ally and accomplice actions look different from agent, target and border identities.
