“Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” (George Santayana) 

Most of us do not consider ourselves to be racist, sexist, or otherwise biased, yet we operate in societies that are deeply characterised by uneven power structures and enduring systemic inequalities created long ago that still have strong influences today. 

Without a clear grasp of the history of these inequities, why and how they were created and perpetuated — and how they still impact us today — our efforts at inclusivity are only partially informed at best. As DEI practitioners, the resulting risk is that of performative or superficial efforts rather than work that addresses core issues to create sustainable change.

This course is co-led by a historian and a DEI practitioner who, together, explore these issues including: 

• How the past continues to shape individual and collective experiences in the workplace, classroom, and communities.
• How constructs such as race, class, gender, and sexuality have resulted in systems of inequality over time.
• How to more comfortably and constructively address these complicated topics with diverse audiences.
• How to “break the cycle” and move toward a more equitable future by incorporating effective anti-discriminatory interpersonal skills and practices.

In this course, you will learn how to help yourself—and those you work—with so that you/they can better: 

1. Understand the historical underpinnings of racial, ethnic, and other discriminatory practices;
2. Appreciate and articulate ways in which negative aspects of historic legacy can be present in current interpersonal dynamics and interactions;
3. Identify key interpersonal strategies for how to “break” with history in order to create more equitable systems moving forward;
4. Develop and deepen interpersonal skills in order to begin to enable more constructive and inclusive interactions about difficult topics using perspective taking, holding space for discomfort in dialogues, using emotion regulation techniques, and offering/accepting genuine apologies, that can ultimately contribute to a more equitable future.

This course will blend cognitive discussions about key concepts and frameworks together with group discussions about challenges you currently face, plus Interactive Learning methods in which you will sample and consider how you might apply the knowledge and strategies gained in this course within your own contexts.

This course is for you if are  — or are helping those who are —

• Serving in a role that supporting colleagues’ professional development and wellbeing (e.g. HR, human capital, people development), 
• Implementing diversity, inclusion, and equity initiatives within an organisation and want to address (inter)personal changes needed to strengthen their impact,
• Providing training or on-the-job professional development opportunities to help colleagues better communicate and collaborate across diversity.
• Teaching or training across cultures in a way that acknowledges historically rooted power dynamics and inequities to create more inclusive learning experiences for all learners.