The SESAME Colloquium

The SESAME Colloquium offers talks on a variety of subjects related to the learning sciences.

Unless otherwise noted, in-person talks are given on Thursdays from 12:00 to 1:30 pm in room 4101, Berkeley Way West (2121 Berkeley Way, Berkeley, CA 94704). Here is the Zoom link for joining talks that are held remotely or in hybrid format.

We are now starting most of these colloquium sessions close to 12:00 (not "Berkeley Time") with a brief puzzle, icebreaker, or other social activity.

Contact sesame.colloquium@berkeley.edu to be added to our mailing list, if you are interested in speaking in this series, or if you'd like to suggest a speaker.

Videos of many past talks may be found on our Colloquium YouTube channel.

Here is information for speakers.

August 27: TBA

Title TBA

Speaker TBA

Abstract

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About the speaker

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September 3: Johnathan Pedroza

Title TBA

Johnathan Pedroza

Abstract

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About the speaker

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September 10: Devin T. White

BRACEing for Liberation: The Black Resistance and Care in Education Model

Devin T. White

College of Education and Human Development, University of Maine

Abstract

In this talk, I will discuss the development of the Black Resistance and Care in Education (BRACE) model, a recursive theoretical framework that theorizes care labor as a strategy of resistance. The BRACE model is explicitly adapted from Margaret Beale Spencer’s Phenomenological Variant of Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST), which centers culturally grounded, identity-driven responses to risk and resilience among Black youth and families (Spencer, 1995, 2006). Drawing on this lineage, BRACE reorients analysis toward the recursive and co-constitutive nature of care and resistance in the lives of Black individuals in education.

Built from the findings of three qualitative studies, BRACE reveals that care and resistance function not as opposites but as interwoven strategies in response to institutionalized anti-Blackness. The BRACE model thus serves as both a reflection of participants lived realities and a theoretical offering for guiding future research, institutional transformation, and culturally responsive praxis.

About the speaker

Devin T. White was born in Oakland, California, and raised on the same block as the Melrose Branch of the Oakland Public Library. Currently, Dr. White is a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Center for Empowered Learning and Development with Technology (CELDTECH) in the Rossier School of Education at the University of Southern California.

At CELDTECH, Dr. White supports the research of Dr. Brendesha Tynes in the development and piloting of CRITmetic, a digital media literacy and mental health platform designed with and for adolescents to cope with online racial discrimination and misinformation. Ultimately, Dr. White is committed to amplifying the voices of Black STEMmers K-20.

Septmber 17: Shaun Liverpool

Title TBA

Shaun Liverpool

Edge Hill University, UK

Abstract

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About the speaker

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September 24: Fall Welcome Event

Fall Welcome Event

October 1: Weiying Li

October 29: Connie Svabo

If you have questions about the Colloquium series, please contact sesame.colloquium@berkeley.edu.