Dr. Terrell R. Morton | University of Illinois-Chicago
Thursday, March 7, 2024 | 12:30 – 2:00 p.m. | Scarfe 310 (in-person only)
Faculty Host: Dr. Samia Khan
View the Seminar Poster here
Abstract:
This presentation engages Critical Race Theory (CRT) and Phenomenological Variant Ecological Systems Theory (PVEST) to unpack and critique the presence and power of structural racism in STEM education research and praxis, including implications for the experiences, decisions, and outcomes of students from racially minoritized groups. Through a CRT-PVEST Framework, we will interrogate the culture of STEM as it manifests through postsecondary institutions, noting how STEM and institutional norms, values, beliefs, and practices facilitate oppression through covert mechanisms. Individual and collective strategies for driving transformative, cultural change to foster race critical, strengths-based learning environments will be provided.
Short Bio:
Dr. Terrell R. Morton is an Assistant Professor of Identity and Justice in STEM Education at the University of Illinois Chicago. He is an alumnus of North Carolina A&T State University (B.S. Chemistry), University of Miami (MS Neuroscience), and UNC Chapel Hill (Ph.D. Education – Learning Sciences and Psychological Studies). Dr. Morton identifies as a Scholar-Activist! His work strives to transform the positioning and understanding of Blackness in mainstream education, specifically STEM, seeking justice and joy for Black women, Black students, and other minoritized individuals given the social-cultural-political-historical positioning of their identities. He in an accomplished, emerging scholar, having published in an array of academic and lay spaces, given over 50 global and national talks and presentations, and obtained over $13 million dollars in external grants. His writing includes, “Who’s who: How ‘women of color’ are (or are not) represented in STEM education research” (Morton, 2022), and, “Courageous self‐examination and radical STEM overhaul: Fostering a racially just STEM education through Black, Brown, Bruised” (Morton, 2021). Through every endeavour, he strives to “walk it like he talks it.”