Microaggressions and Microaffirmations: What to do in your work group

When and Where

When

to

What

Event Type
Meeting

Where

Online Meet meeting

Links

This is a regular meeting of the CIRES D&I Community of Practice. We'll look at some common types of microaggressions and discuss strategies to address microaggression incivilities at the individual, work group and leadership levels. Find connection info and very short pre-reading below.

Here’s the connection info:

Meeting ID

meet.google.com/niu-hgwi-kyo

Phone Numbers

(‪US) ‪+1 620-869-1611

PIN: ‪973 343 114#

From AdvanceGEO (find more ADVANCEGeo resources here).

Recognizing Microaggressions and the messages they send.  This is a quick table that explains different examples of microaggressions and why they communicate negative messages. Don’t worry if you find you’ve said or done some of these things. I definitely have, and it’s all about learning to do better. On Monday we’ll talk about what to do instead.

Microaggressions in the classroom.  If you have time, this 18 minute video describing microaggressions  students have experienced will bring it home to you in a really visceral way. It’s one thing to know of the examples in an abstract way, and another to feel how microaggressions impact real people.

So what to do? We’ll talk about that Monday. Here is one strategy that you can practice on an individual level:

Micro-affirmations in Academic Advising: Small Acts, Big Impact: This is about consciously adopting habits of empathy and kindness. It isn’t magic, but it is a positive behavior that can attenuate the impacts of microaggressions. We know from our CIRES 2018 Culture Survey that positive supports have a protective effect against incivilities for people; this is one example of such a support.

We’ll also talk about some other strategies that can be practiced beyond the individual level at a work group or leadership level, plus what to do if microaggressions are pervasive.