AEOE 2007 Statewide Spring Conference:Connecting
with Community Sierra Outdoor School, Sonora, CA April 27-29, 2007 Keynote Speaker:
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Our 2007 Keynote Speaker, Dr. Carlos Cortés
Dr. Carlos Cortés is one of the nation's most sought-after diversity speakers. He has captivated audiences throughout the United States, Europe, Asia, Australia and Latin America with his exuberant, insightful, humor-filled, constantly surprising presentations. Building upon the dynamics of history to help illuminate the future, he inspires, motivates, and assists others in dealing with the inevitable challenges and opportunities of a complex world of differences and similarities.
Dr. Cortés, Professor Emeritus of History at UC Riverside, has lectured widely on such topics as race and ethnicity, multiculturalism, diversity in the media, multicultural, global, bilingual, and social studies education; media literacy; Hispanic culture; film-and-history; Latin American and Chicano history, and the implications of diversity for education, government,and private business. Since 1990, he has served on the summer faculty of the Harvard Institutes for Higher Education and since 1995 on the faculty of the Summer Institute for Intercultural Communication.
A consultant to many government agencies, school systems, universities, mass media, private businesses and other organizations, Dr. Cortés has written film and television documentaries, has appeared as guest host on the PBS national television series, “Why in the World?”, is the featured presenter on the Video Journal of Education’s 1994 training video “Diversity in the Classroom,” and currently serves as Cultural Consultant for Nickelodeon's preschool series, “Dora the Explorer.”
His two most recent books are The Children are Watching: How the Media Teach about Diversity, and The Making — and Remaking—of a Multiculturalist. He is the editor of three book series and author of numerous professional books and articles, among which is "Beyond Language: Social and Cultural Factors in Schooling Language Minority Students."
About Dr. Cortés' play:
We are doubly enriched, because, in addition to delivering our conference keynote, Dr. Cortés will also be performing "A Conversation with Alana: One Boy’s Multicultural Rite of Passage," on Friday evening! "A Conversation with Alana" is a one-hour, one-person autobiographical play written and performed by Dr. Cortés. In his play, Cortés presents his story of growing up as a young man of mixed ancestry in racially segregated, religiously divided early post-World War II Kansas City, Missouri. The son of a Mexican Catholic immigrant father and an American-born Jewish mother, whose parents came from Austria and Ukraine, Cortés had to learn to navigate Kansas City's rigid racial, ethnic, and religious fault lines, while simultaneously dealing with the internal conflicts of his own divided family.
About Dr. Cortés' books, The Making — and Remaking—of a Multiculturalist and The Children are Watching: How the Media Teach about Diversity:
"Dr. Cortés takes you on a soul-searching course for equitable, inclusive educational approaches to tell accurately and honestly the multidimensional story of the American experience. Compelling and witty, this book is a must read for anyone who wants to make a difference in schools and their communities."
–Ricardo L. García, University of Nebraska
"With its creative synthesis of autobiography and exposition, this book shows a prolific author ‘walking his talk’. Carlos Cortés has said ‘yes’ to every opportunity for professional growth in the multicultural field, and we should also say ‘yes’ to this extraordinary offering of his insight."
—Milton J. Bennett, Director, The Intercultural Communication Institute
"In his conversational and exuberant way, Carlos Cortés offers us an affirming message after the September 11 horror–diversity is not to be feared but rather to be embraced, for as Americans we personify the peoples of the world. The essays attached to his life story concretely illustrate the practices of this master teacher of multicultural education."
—Ronald Takaki, author of A Different Mirror: A History of Multicultural America
Carlos Cortés has been a first-hand observer and participant in the growth of multiculturalism and multicultural education from their birth in the social movements of the 1960s to the present day. In this unique collection of essays about diversity, society, and education, he provides readers with valuable insights, both from his own life story and from some of the most thought-provoking articles he has written over the past three decades. In many ways, Cortés’s personal and professional story is the story of the multicultural movement itself, and this volume gives witness to the struggles and successes that Cortés and many others have experienced while striving to create a place for the voices, values, and visions of racial and ethnic groups in our culturally diverse nation and shrinking world.
This one-of-a-kind reflective history:
* Examines the evolving nature of multiculturalism and multicultural education as a dynamic and interactive process.
* Features the perspective of a historian who has participated in the multicultural education movement.
* Urges readers to reflect on their own lives, careers, and efforts to meet the challenges and opportunities of our increasingly diverse society.
* Helps educators examine their own reasons for participating in the struggle to build a better multicultural future for our children.
