Teaching Assistants' Training Program

Description

Blackburn Room, Robarts Library, 4th Floor

The online threats recently made against feminist teachers and students at the University of Toronto are disturbing and upsetting. While the police have assessed the risk of physical violence as low and the university has responded by increasing security, the violence of these threats has already done a great deal of damage: an anonymous and targeted call for gendered violence such as this is an attempt to silence the voices of women, to silence those who critique existing power structures, and to intimidate those who would support vulnerable people in their work of changing these structures. This most recent event is only one of many such threats to the security of scholars who talk back to power from within the university: other marginalized groups, speaking out against inequity and injustice, are routinely targeted for speaking out.

On Wednesday, October 21st, from 2:30-3:30pm, the Teaching Assistant’s Training Program, at the Centre for Teaching Support and Innovation, will be hosting a discussion of these kind of threats and their effects on the university community. Please note, this will not be a formal workshop, but rather a forum for open discussion regarding disturbing threats directed at members of our community, our colleagues, our teachers, our friends, and ourselves. This will be a member-directed discussion of what individuals and departments who were not specifically targeted in this most recent event can provide support to those were, and how we, as course instructors and TAs, can help our students to work through the event. As educators, we have the responsibility to use this frightening situation as a way of opening discussions about communities in crisis, and the way to use education to combat the ignorance, prejudice and hatred that produces events such as these.

All TAs and Course Instructors are welcome, no registration required.