The Threads That Tie Us
A Discussion of How Artists and Researchers Can Advance Social Justice Together
Wednesday, October 25, 2023 3:00 PM EDT
Johnson Center, The Bistro
On October 25, Dr. Janani Umamaheswar and Dr. Robert Norris, faculty in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society and co-Directors of The Social Justice Collaborative, will facilitate an interactive panel discussion exploring how art and research can be integrated to advance social justice agendas. Funded by Mason’s Anti-Racism and Inclusive Excellence (ARIE) initiative, this discussion will feature three artists (Professor Juana Medina, Dr. KC Councilor, and Mr. Sherrill Roland) and focus on how artists and researchers can work together to dismantle systems of social inequality.
All members of the Mason community are welcome! Light refreshments will be served.
Panelists:
Janani Umamaheswar is an Assistant Professor and the Co-Director of the Social Justice Collaborative in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society at George Mason University. She received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the Pennsylvania State University, and her research interests are in the areas of social inequality and punishment, with a focus on the lived experience of imprisonment and the collateral harms of incarceration.
Robert Norris is an Associate Professor and the Co-Director of the Social Justice Collaborative in the Department of Criminology, Law and Society at George Mason University. He received his Ph.D. from the School of Criminal Justice at the University at Albany (SUNY). His research interests revolve around change—how reform happens and how it is shaped by social, cultural, political, and legal factors.
Juana Medina is an Assistant Professor at George Mason University’s School of Art, where she is committed to being part of a larger (and deeper) conversation on visual narrative in relation to inclusion and representation. Juana was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, and she is the author and illustrator of multiple children’s books, including the semi-autobiographical book series Juana & Lucas, winner of the prestigious Pura Belpré Award and two International Latino Book Awards.
KC Councilor is a communication professor, a cartoonist, and a podcaster. He has an MA in American Studies from the University of New Mexico and a PhD in Rhetoric, Politics, and Culture from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In his communication classrooms at Southern Connecticut State University, he centers justice and fosters student activism. As a cartoonist, his work is largely about the experiences of navigating the world as a transgender and transitioning person. In addition to his graphic memoir, Between You and Me: Transitional Comics (2019), he has published comics in the books “Graphic Reproduction” and “Menopause: A Comic Treatment” and in the academic journals Communication and Critical/Cultural Studies, Women’s Studies in Communication, Literature and Medicine, and the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Sherrill Roland is an artist whose interdisciplinary practice deals with concepts of innocence, identity, and community, reimagining their social and political implications in the context of the American criminal justice system. For more than three years, Sherrill’s right to self-determination was lost to a wrongful accusation, conviction, and incarceration. After spending ten months in prison for a crime for which he was later exonerated, he returned to his artistic practice, which he now uses as a vehicle for self-reflection and an outlet for emotional release.
Hosted by The Social Justice Collaborative.
