The Sankofa RLC is a residential community for first-year and upperclassmen students of color and others interested in racial justice, cross-cultural collaboration, and intercultural exchange. Sankofa is an Akan term that means “to return, to go back and get it, to seek.” It is the idea that in our past we find the power and strength to create a brighter future. “Sankofa” affirms that our past gives us necessary context we must use to move forward. Please note: “students of color” is inclusive of, but not limited to: those who self-identify as Black, Indigenous/Native American, Latinx/Chicanx, Asian, or any combination of these. This phrase is also inclusive of the variety of ethnicities and cultures within those groups. Through enrollment in AFST 174: Thinking From the Margins, students will be introduced to “subaltern studies,” or ways of thinking from and about those groups who have historically been marginalized, particularly the African diaspora (in the Americas and the Caribbean). Outside of the classroom, students will deepen their understanding through group participation in campus events, residence hall programming, and other multicultural activities & immersive experiences here in Asheville and afar. Please contact the Area Director for Mills Hall, Resharia Keller, for more information at rkeller1@unca.edu.
Population:
First-Year and continuing students
Requirements:
Enroll in AFST 174
Co-curricular Partner:
- AFST 174 – Thinking from the Margins
- Office of Multicultural Affairs
Location:
Mills Hall 3rd Floor
Goals:
- Reflect on their individual identities and collective values
- Examine their biases and assumptions related to other cultural groups
- Discuss the ways power, privilege, and oppression impact different marginalized communities
- Explore the concept of cultural humility and practice respectful cultural exchange