Tans Lecture:
Know what you are Talking About -
Systemic Power and the (Un)predictability of Everyday Racism

Wednesday 24 November, 20:00
Franz Palm Lecture Hall, Tongersestraat 53

Philomena Essed
Professor of Critical Race, Gender and Leadership Studies, Antioch University

In the wake of Black Lives Matter, the notion of ‘systemic racism’ has opened eyes in mainstream, policy and business arenas. International corporations and universities are vigorously advertising their inclusion and diversity intentions, but are less proactive about equipping stakeholders with the knowledge and tools to create racism-free environments. Future generations are looking at sustainable global (and virtual) workspaces, where racism knowledge is a sine qua non, because racism and environmental degradation intertwine. Racism knowledge, grounded in a thorough understanding of everyday racism, can predict racism scenarios and identify which interventions can be effective …or not.

Philomena Essed, Full Professor at Antioch University’s Graduate School of Leadership and Change, works with leaders representing multiple demographic and professional backgrounds. In the Netherlands, she is also Affiliated Researcher at Utrecht University’s Graduate Gender Programme and a founding faculty member of the Amsterdam-based Black Europe Summer School. She holds a PhD from the University of Amsterdam and Honorary Doctorate degrees from the University of Pretoria, South Africa (2011) and Umeå University, Sweden (2015). Essed introduced the now classical concepts of everyday racism, gendered racism and, more recently, entitlement racism. She was also a pioneer in developing theory on social and cultural cloning. Applied across the globe, her work has been translated into French, Italian, Portuguese, Chinese and Arabic (in progress). Her current focus is on social and environmental healing, dignity, cultures of care and autobiographical/biographical stories of wisdom across generations.

The dr. J. Tans Lecture is organised every year to honour dr. J. Tans (1912 - 1993), the founding father of Maastricht University. In 1977, Sjeng Tans became the first president of Maastricht University.