Campus Advocates for Social Justice: Muhlenberg's Social Research Social Justice conference
Muhlenberg's Social Research Social Justice conference began in 2003 as a collaboration between faculty and students in the department of media & communication at the College, with the goal to create a forum outside of their classes to discuss issues of social justice in a democratic society. The Conference continues to foster this initial vision, with a strong and consistent faculty, student and community representation from across the Lehigh Valley region.
Students projects represent a range of social science and humanities disciplines including sociology, media and communication, film studies, education, history, women’s studies, public health, political science, art, theater, psychology, international studies, environmental science and sustainability and religion, to name a few.
"SRSJ provides memorable mentoring opportunities between undergraduates and faculty," says Kate Ranieri, associate professor of media & communication and co-director of the Social Research Social Justice conference. "The conference facilitates inspirational exchanges with students and faculty moderators from colleges across the Lehigh Valley."
While topics often vary with each installment of the conference, the central driving theme of social justice is presented in a way that engages participants and encourages dialog.
Recent speakers have included filmmaker Eugene Jarecki, whose 2012 documentary “The House I Live In” discusses the United States’ War on Drugs and the resulting effects of mass incarceration and drug wars that overwhelmingly impact people of color, and Kylee Sunderlin, staff attorney for the National Advocates for Pregnant Women, whose mission is to ensure “no one is stigmatized, shamed, punished or denied health care or constitutional and human rights because they have the capacity for pregnancy, are pregnant or because of the outcome of their pregnancies."
