Our website uses cookies to understand how you navigate our content and to give you the best browsing experience.
Please read our Data Protection & Use Notification to learn more.
The Center for Antiracist Scholarship, Advocacy, and Action (CASAA)
The Center for Antiracist Scholarship, Advocacy, and Action (CASAA) at Arcadia University was established in November 2021 as part of the Anti-Black Racism Initiatives (ABRI). CASAA is an interdisciplinary academic center that brings together individuals from the University, community, and wider world to (re)shape the thinking and mindset about racism across the globe with the intent to not only combat racism but also promote racial justice and equity.
HOME FOR GLOBAL STUDIES ON ANTIRACIST THOUGHT, RACISM, AND SOCIAL JUSTICE
CASAA Goals
Shaped in part by the Anti-Black Racism Initiatives (ABRI) at Arcadia University, the Center has three core goals that it aims to achieve in its efforts to become a leading advocate of antiracist thought and to act towards ensuring racial justice and equity. These goals include 1) pursuing research, 2) building community, and 3) providing resources.
Pursue Research
Because the cultures of racism and white supremacy are intersecting and constantly evolving, a central goal of CASAA is to promote the development of scholarship—through an intersectional lens—that contributes to our understanding of race, racism, and antiracism in the past as well as in the contemporary world. CASAA defines scholarship broadly to include discovery, artistic expression, and application. In this pursuit, CASAA will:
- Promote University-wide scholarship related to better understanding racism and antiracist practices.
- Support scholar-advocates' existing and developing research projects that are related to better understanding contemporary and historical forms of racism, how notions of white supremacy create racism, and other similar foci.
- Encourage community-engaged and action-oriented scholarship as well as research that will lead to the creation of curricula for understanding racism and antiracism.
- Develop, implement, and evaluate best practices for antiracist advocacy and action.
Build Community
CASAA will foster relationships within and across disciplines, institutions, and communities to generate diverse coalitions. This will involve engagement with colleagues and communities for the development, implementation, and evaluation of evidence-based resources and through advocacy and action efforts. CASAA will:
- Promote and enable the development of diverse coalitions and, by doing so, serve as a model for unifying efforts.
- Be a space that actively engages the insights of those traditionally marginalized and disenfranchised in these important conversations.
- Work with community members to advocate for reform and action to combat racism and promote racial equity.
- Work collaboratively with the community, including colleagues and stakeholders both inside and outside of the University, to develop, test, and implement evidence-based antiracist practices.
Provide Resources
CASAA will cultivate a culture of professional and personal learning by providing access to communities of practice, training, conferences, and presentations, some of which will be the outcome of our scholar-advocates' research. In collaboration with other units on and off campus, CASAA will also create an interdisciplinary repository of resources for faculty, staff, students, and the public that addresses racism, outlines best practices for building racial equity, and shapes an ethic of care. CASAA will:
- Provide funding, grant-writing support and information, and collaborative spaces that support antiracist scholarship, action, and advocacy.
- Support existing faculty and staff scholarly and applied projects by providing opportunities for research dissemination and connecting faculty and staff with networks.
- Provide personal learning opportunities for faculty and staff to 1) increase awareness of positionalities, power, and privilege; 2) increase knowledge of the multifaceted effects of systemic racism; and 3) develop antiracist strategies and practices.
- Support faculty and staff in the development of antiracist, interdisciplinary, and inclusive curricula and pedagogy.
CASAA IN ACTION: FACILITATING DISCOURSE AND RESEARCH ON RACIAL INEQUITIES AND INJUSTICES WORLDWIDE
CASAA Programs and Initiatives
Part of the vision for the Center is to offer innovative and thought-provoking programming/initiatives to the members of the Arcadia community and beyond in order to deepen our collective understanding of the systems of racism and the efforts toward building racial equity in the modern world. Through sustained, research-based dialogue and opportunities to support the work of scholar-advocates, both at the University and within the community, we aim to be a catalyst for change.
CREATING OPPORTUNITIES FOR COMMUNITY-BUILDING, KNOWLEDGE DEVELOPMENT, AND ENGAGED DIALOGUE
CASAA Events and Programming
Throughout the year, CASAA offers a number of thought-provoking events and conversations aligned with its founding mission. For more on past CASAA events, click the button below.
SPREADING AWARENESS, STIMULATING CONVERSATION, AND UNLOCKING THE DOOR TO SYSTEMIC CHANGE
CASAA News
EFFECTIVE LEADERSHIP PROMOTING RESEARCH AS A GATEWAY TO ADVOCACY AND ANTIRACIST ACTION
CASAA Leadership and Advisory Councils
Under the leadership of our Founding Executive Director and Associate Director, the Center for Antiracist Scholarship, Advocacy, and Action (CASAA) provides a platform to bring together diverse minds across the world to conduct research and develop antiracist practices.
Doreen E. Loury
Assistant Professor
Founding Executive Director of CASAA
Dr. Loury will oversee the Center’s scholarly and administrative efforts and develop initiatives and partnerships to encourage and support faculty and staff research on issues of race, ethnicity, power, and inequity.
Christopher Allen Varlack
Assistant Professor
Associate Director of CASAA
Dr. Varlack will be responsible for implementing the mission and vision of the Center, managing its day-to-day operations, promoting the Center's activities and services, and creating spaces to showcase faculty and staff research.
light
The leadership of the Center is supported by the invaluable work of the CASAA Advisory Councils, which offer guidance and support as we work to achieve the goals established for the Center.
FOSTERING COLLABORATIONS AND CRITICAL COMMENTARY ON ANTIRACISM AND SOCIAL JUSTICE TODAY
Connect with Us Today
CASAA is dedicated to fostering strong community partnerships, collaborations with other units on the Arcadia University campus, and relationships with organizations/institutions doing important working in antiracist scholarship, social justice, advocacy, and action. Follow us for exciting updates about our programming, research-in-progress, and more.
