Deis Impact

The words Deis Impact are printed in front of a red backdrop

Deis Impact is Brandeis University’s festival of social justice. This series of events empowers students, academic departments, clubs, faculty, staff, and organizations to sponsor programming opportunities connected to important social justice themes.

DEIS Impact 2024: “Embracing Difference: Recognizing Jewish Identity at the Margins in the Effort to Address Racism and Antisemitism”

March 25-27, 2024
Hassenfeld Conference Center

For this year’s DEIS Impact festival, the Office of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Education and Learning Initiatives will host a three-day symposium. The symposium, which is generously supported by the Louis D. Brandeis Legacy Fund for Social Justice, is centered around Audre Lorde’s ‘theory of difference’ and intersectionality, and will bring together regional and national  scholars, practitioners, and the Brandeis community to explore the evolving narrative of “who is Jewish?” – and how those within the greater Jewish diaspora, the Black community, and other marginalized sectors can come together  to harness collective agency in the struggle for social justice.

Key themes and inquiry questions:

  • Why should antisemitism matter to all of us?
  • How might we engage multiple cultural and ethnic groups in addressing antisemitism?
  • How might Jews of color better navigate anti-Black racism and antisemitism?
  • How might Jewish values support overarching DEI goals and objectives?
  • Why is acknowledging our interdependence necessary to transform hegemony and address racism?

This event is open to DEI practitioners and Diversity Officers in higher education, and is free for Brandeis students, staff, faculty, and alumni with an active University email. Please provide your Brandeis email during checkout. Additionally, students, faculty, and staff who attend the Symposium are eligible for a certificate of participation. We encourage you to include this unique learning opportunity in your own academic or departmental programming.

Register here

DEIS Impact is made possible by a generous grant from the Louis D. Brandeis Legacy Fund for Social Justice.

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We believe it is imperative that donors, funders, and philanthropists understand, reflect, and respond to the growing need for equity efforts in education.

Through our DEI work at Brandeis, we seek to interrupt injustice at every level. We are taking strategic and decisive action to create an equitable learning environment that contributes to a kinder, more empathetic society. We invite you to join us in the journey towards justice, and consider making a donation in support of this initiative and our department.

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Thank you for your generosity – together we can co-create the Beloved Community of the future.