(2020-21 SU) PAX 691 A - Transforming Community Spaces

2020 saw a turning point in public recognition of the need to transform monuments, memorials, contaminated areas, sites of violence, and other spaces identified with histories of harm. “Transforming Community Spaces Through Equitable Collaboration” (TCS) will prepare participants to help institutions and communities determine how to transform these challenging sites using processes that uncover hidden histories, advance social justice, and promote collective healing. Participants will learn about the challenges and opportunities of problematic community spaces and the principles and practices of “equitable collaboration.” Equitable collaboration is engagement that is trauma-informed, inclusive, responsive, truth-seeking, deliberative and adaptive. A particular focus of the course will be nearby Charlottesville, Virginia, including work to transform the sites of the Confederate statues that prompted 2017’s Unite the Right rally and violence, and the deep community engagement that guided the design of the momentous new Memorial to Enslaved Laborers at the University of Virginia. Participants will also have access to an online Toolkit (transformingcommunityspaces.org) that will help them navigate these challenging conflicts within their own communities and institutions.