2022 AAPLAC Conference

Cultural Awareness and Social Justice

Tucson, Arizona

February 16-19, 2022

Conference Activities and Sessions


AAPLAC is deeply grateful for the partnership of the University of Arizona College of Education in hosting this 33rd Annual Conference, February 16-19, 2022.

University of Arizona College of Education

The program and arrangements have received generous support from the UArizona Office of Hispanic Serving Institution Initiatives, Donahue Institute of Lasell University, Universidad de Guanajuato, Albright College, Campbell University and Illinois College.

Except where noted otherwise, all conference sessions will take place in the Kachina Lounge on Level 3 of the Student Union Memorial Center (1303 E University Blvd) on the UArizona campus:



*All times are shown in US Mountain Standard Time (MST), which is one hour behind Mexico City/Central Standard Time (CST) and two hours behind Eastern Standard Time (EST).

This schedule is subject to change and will be updated as needed.
Wednesday, February 16
4:00-5:30 PM MST*Land Acknowledgment and Blessing
Jesse F. Navarro (Tohono O’odham), Governmental Affairs, Tohono O’odham Nation

Introduction
Dr. Karen Francis-Begay (Diné), Assistant Vice Provost, Native American Initiatives

Keynote Address: Re-Envisioning Education: Some Considerations Based on the Experience of the Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
José Francisco Calí Tzay (Maya Kaqchikel)
Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples,
United Nations Commission on Human Rights
José Francisco Calí Tzay

Mr. Calí Tzay is Maya Kaqchikel from Guatemala, with experience in defending the rights of Indigenous Peoples, both in Guatemala and at the level of the United Nations and the OAS. [Read More]

Keynote address sponsored by Albright College, Campbell University Department of Foreign Language, Illinois College, Lasell University Donahue Institute for Equity & Social Justice, Tulane University Stone Center for Latin American Studies, and Universidad de Guanajuato.

Albright College logo
Campbell University Department of Foreign Language logo
Illinois College logo
Lasell University logo
Tulane University Stone Center logo
Universidad de Guanajuato logo
5:30-7:00 PM MST*Welcome Reception
Open to registered presenters and invited guests
Sabino Room and Patio (Student Union Memorial Center, Level 3)

Welcome
Dean Bruce Johnson, College of Education
Associate Dean Iliana Reyes, College of Education

Sponsored by the UArizona College of Education.
University of Arizona College of Education
Thursday, February 17
10:30-10:45 AM MST*Opening Welcome, Announcements
AAPLAC President Stephanie Athey 
Dr. Iliana Reyes, Associate Dean, College of Education
10:45 AM-12:15 PM MST*Session 1: National Security? The Border Militarization Industry's Birth at the US Southwest Border
Panel Chair: Blake Gentry (Cherokee), "Conceptual Introduction to Panel"
  • Dr. Geoff Boyce, "Borders by Design: Neoliberal Thought on Human Autonomy"
  • Dr. Sam Chambers, "Border Technology for Human Deprivation: The Human Cost of Migrant Survival"
  • Todd Miller, "The United States Southwest Border as Petri Dish for Global Border Building"
  • Blake Gentry (Cherokee), "Termination v. Culture and Language Reproduction in Indigenous Migration"
  • Raymond Daukei (Kiowa/O’odham), "Impact of Border Militarization on O’odham Peoples"
12:15-12:30 PM MST*Coffee Break
Courtesy of the UArizona Office of Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Initiatives

University of Arizona Office of Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Initiatives
12:30-1:45 PM MST*Session 2: The Border Studies Program: Transnational Learning through a Social Justice Curriculum Grounded in the US/Mexico Borderlands
  • Geoff Boyce, Academic Director, Earlham College Border Studies Program
  • Mari Galup, Community Director
  • Kate Morgan, Director of Student Services
  • Diego Bustos, Director of Spanish Language Learning
1:45-3:00 PM MST*Lunch on your own
AAPLAC Board Executive Session
3:00-4:15 PM MST*Session 3: Indigenous Initiatives and Decolonial Contexts
  • Erika L. Díaz Cruz, "Aportes de Luna del Sur a la educación feminista decolonial"
  • Quetzalli Sotelo Schmelkes, "Indigenous Language Vitality Scenarios in the Highlands of Chiapas and the Yucatan Peninsula: The Role of the Education System and How to Imagine Collectively an Integrated Revitalization Perspective"
  • Sendy Vaughn Suazo, "Transnationalism in the Garifuna and Afrodescendiente Communities and Its Impact"
  • Hannah Palmer, "Hacia una Administración Decolonial: Reflexiones desde la gestión de programas de lenguas indígenas"
  • Deborah Colvin, "When Dreams Hit Reality: Experiences Hosting Students and Volunteers in Service Placements in Mexico and Guatemala"
4:15-4:30 PM MST*Break
Courtesy of the UArizona Office of Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Initiatives

University of Arizona Office of Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Initiatives
4:30-5:15 PM MST*Session 4: Narrative Change and Alternate Storylines—Places, People, Language
  • Amy Bracken, "How to Cut through the Noise: Offering New Narratives about Misrepresented People and Places"
  • Rosy Hastir, Ajoy Batta, and Sukanya Das, "Disparity and Darkness in Turbulent Times: An Odyssey of the Illegal Migrant"
5:15-5:30 PM MST*Break
Courtesy of the UArizona Office of Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Initiatives

University of Arizona Office of Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Initiatives
5:30-6:45 PM MST*Session 5: Great "IDEAS"—Grants Diversifying Study Abroad
  • Katherine Heird Villamar, TU Tigers Abroad, Towson University
  • Brian Jennings, The Global Scholars Program, Albright College
  • Nadia Alvarez Mexia, Navigating Education in Borderlands Program, University of Arizona, with Sandra Bernal, Melody Buckner, and Dan Xayaphanh
6:45 PM MST*Dinner and evening on your own
Friday, February 18
9:00-10:00 AM MST*Opening Announcements and Welcome
Assistant Vice Provost Marla Franco, Office of Hispanic Serving Institution Initiatives

Session 6: Enriching and Expanding the Intercultural Campus
  • Nadia Alvarez Mexia, Iliana Reyes, Etta Kralovec, and Vannessa Falcón, "The Borderlands Education Center in the UArizona: Visions and Initiatives"
  • Hortense Gerardo, "Multicultural Perspectives in Engineering Design: The Anthropology, Performance, and Technology (APT) Program"
  • Tiago Jones, Campbell Hispanic Association: Expression of Diversity and Social Awareness on Campus
10:00-10:15 AM MST*Break
Courtesy of the UA Office of Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Initiatives

University of Arizona Office of Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Initiatives
10:15-11:30 AM MST*Session 7: Exploring the Context: Serving BIPOC and Migrant Students and Families
  • Tommy K. Begay (Diné), "American Indian Historical Trauma and the Path to Resilience through Sacred Wisdom"
  • Charlotte Frazier, "Identity, Interrupted: Using a Critical Lens of Racial Identity, Intersectionality, and Social Justice in the Curriculum Mapping of International Study Programs for BIPOC Students"
  • Marcelo Juica, "Undocumented Voices in Higher Education"
  • Alicia Monzalvo and Daniel Rojas Méndez, "Validación de Escala de Sensibilidad Intercultural"
11:30-11:45 AM MST*Break
Courtesy of the UA Office of Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Initiatives

University of Arizona Office of Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Initiatives
11:45 AM-1:00 PM MST*Session 8: Digital Futures in Research and Study Abroad
  • David Comp, "Virtual-Global Collaborations: The New, Post-COVID Norm"
  • Amy Maynard and Sacha Mills, "University Preservice Teachers and Antiguan Professionals: A Shoulder to Shoulder  Partnership"
  • Lorena Gaibor, "The Silver Lining of Covid"
  • Annie Gibson, "Leading a Social Justice Redesign in the Field of Study Abroad"
1:00-2:15 PM MST*Lunch on your own
2:15-3:30 PM MST*Session 9: Transnational Modalities in Human Rights, Teaching and Research
  • Lean Sweeney, Laura Aragon, and University of Virginia students Stratton Marsh and Maddie Devost, "Entre Imperialismo y Utilidad: Abogando contra la violencia de género pero desde un país extraño—Los EEUU y Latinoamérica"
  • Seánna Howard and Jeneva Parks, "University of Arizona Law Clinic Support for the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples"
3:30-3:45 PM MST*Break
Courtesy of the UA Office of Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Initiatives

University of Arizona Office of Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Initiatives
3:45-4:45 PM MST*Session 10: Opportunity and Challenge in Experiential Immersion
  • Helen Ann Ortiz, "Bridging Communities through Creative Dialogue"
  • José R. Guzmán, "Living with an Indigenous Community: How Two Weeks of Service Learning Can Change a Student's Life"
  • Mandy Brookins, Angela Castañeda and Yeniela Cedeño Hechavarría, "From Service to Solidarity: Collaborating across Changing Cuba-US Relations"
  • Steven Gardner, "When US Students Only Speak English: The Challenges of Creating Experiential Learning Opportunities in Spanish-Speaking Countries for Monolingual US Students"
7:00 PM MST*Conference Dinner at La Indita (722 N Stone Ave, Tucson, AZ 85705)
Open to registered presenters and UArizona partners

Dinner Program*:
  • Land acknowledgement
  • Dean Bruce Johnson 
  • Owners,  La Indita about their work with local Native communities
  • Appetizers – Dinner - Live music from 8-9 - DJ after
*Registration fees from presenters and guests provide for this meal. The collaboration with La Indita enables us to put that money toward community projects. Dinner is to Include unlimited aguas frescas, appetizer, meal, and two alcoholic drinks.  Additional drinks purchased will also go directly to the community projects and will need to be paid for by Venmo or cash. We thank Marisol Badilla of our local Conference Coordination Committee for making these excellent arrangements.
Saturday, February 19
8:30 AM-12:00 PM MST*Cultural Showcase (optional)
Open to all guests who have registered for Saturday. The fee for this optional activity is $50.
Kiva Auditorium (Student Union Memorial Center, Level 2)

Coffee provided. Curated by the Office of Native American Initiatives and Dr. Karen Francis-Begay.
  • Indigenous Cultural Exchange, student team that traveled to New Zealand, Australia, and Canada in 2018 and 2019
  • Dr. Ofelia Zepeda (Tohono O'odham), Poet, Regents Professor of Linguistics and Director of the American Indian Language Development Institute
  • Native SOAR (Student Outreach, Access, and Resilience), Award-winning mentorship program
  • Nicholas Littleman (Diné), Fancy Grass dance performance

University of Arizona Office of Native American Initiatives
8:00 PM MST*Small Island Big Song
This optional live performance opportunity requires a separate ticket ($25). View project trailer and purchase tickets through Arizona Arts.
Centennial Hall (1020 E University Blvd)

A music, film, live project featuring over a hundred musicians across 16 island nations of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, creating a contemporary and relevant musical statement of a region in the frontline of cultural and environmental challenges.

Small Island Big Song celebrates 5000 years of Pacific Islander culture, from Taiwan to Aotearoa/New Zealand, Madagascar to Rapa Nui/Easter Island—islanders who share an ancient seafaring ancestry and language. Over three years, Small Island Big Song evolved from visits to 16 island nations, and work with over 100 artists, solo artists, elders, community groups, and grassroots musicians, all recorded in their homelands in nature using traditional instruments and languages, with each contributing to each other's songs. The result is a stunning musical collaboration reuniting the distant yet interconnected musical traditions of the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The album and film were composed, recorded, shot and overdubbed in nature, on the artists' custodial land.

Thank You

The technical expertise and grace of AAPLAC Webmaster Soren Peterson and Michael Griffith and his team at UArizona make this event possible.

Special thanks to Dr. Nadia Alvarez Mexia for her coordination and partnership with AAPLAC and the College of Education. Her efforts make this conference possible.

We are grateful as well to our local Conference Coordination Committee from the College of Education:

  • Marisol Badilla
  • Maritza M. Marquez Olague
  • Elizabeth Gaxiola

Finally, we also want to thank these volunteers:

  • Karla Flores-Salamanca (Lasell University)
  • Alexis Grant (Lasell University)
  • Momo Cabrera (University of Arizona)

University of Arizona COVID-19 Information

Register for AAPLAC 2022

Join us for this hybrid event hosted by the University of Arizona College of Education.

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