Snowshoe Tracks at the Ojibwe Bibooni Ataadiiwin (Ojibwe Winter Games). Photo by Tim Frandy.
Like all departments in the Faculty of Arts, CENES has put concerted effort into expressing its sincere and enduring commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in all of its affairs. This is how we view our responsibilities:
The Department of Central, Eastern, and Northern European Studies (CENES) acknowledges that it is situated on the unceded and occupied lands of Hən̓q̓əmin̓əm̓-speaking Xwməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam) people at the University of British Columbia. Understanding the historical complicity of universities and our disciplines in perpetuating racism, colonization, heteropatriarchy, ableism, classism, and other forms of inequity, we advocate for shared responsibility in the work towards truth, reconciliation, justice, decolonization, and equity for all.
CENES thus recognizes its responsibilities to Musqueam, Coast Salish, and other Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island. We commit to reshaping our teaching, research, and service to directly benefit these communities where possible and to centre Indigenous perspectives in regions such as Sápmi, Inuit Nunangat, Siberia, and former colonies in Africa, Oceania, South and Southeast Asia, and beyond. Our commitment extends to various ethnic minority and immigrant/newcomer communities, racialized people, people of diverse gender identities and sexual orientations, the economically disadvantaged, the linguistically marginalized, and the differently abled in an ableist society.
In alignment with these commitments and the CENES Strategic Plan, CENES is dedicated to maintaining, cultivating, and advancing equity, inclusion, diversity, justice, and decolonization in of our teaching, research, service, and other professional activities. Understanding that equity requires more than mere inclusion, CENES recognizes the need to advocate and support radical and sometimes challenging structural shifts of power in our classrooms, research methods, and service and community work.
We approach this task with humility, acknowledging the magnitude of the challenge. We further recognize that we may sometimes fall short of our ideals, and we invite critique, and are committed to listening and growth to improve our working praxis. Our collective mission is to challenge and transform oppressive systems, even as we grapple with our own complicity, and to hold ourselves accountable for effecting the necessary changes to contribute to a more just world through our efforts.
