“Code switching”—the means by which individuals adapt their identities based on the social situations in which they find themselves—will be the focus of the Boston College School of Social Work annual Equality, Justice, and Inclusion Lecture and Distinguished Alumni Award Celebration, which will be held in virtual format on January 31 at 7 p.m.
“Code Switching: Tuning In, Instead of Toning Down” will feature a panel discussion with four BC alumni on why code switching is relevant to social work, how it manifests in practice, and what strategies BCSSW can use to prepare practitioners to “show up authentically and as their whole selves at work,” according to event organizers.
Panelists include documentarian Mike Mascoll ’87, whose experiences as an African American child from Boston attending a west suburban school served as the basis for the 2019 film “CodeSwitching: Race and Identity in the Suburban Schoolhouse,” which he co-produced. (Event organizers note that “CodeSwitching” is available for streaming through University Libraries.)
Joining Mascoll are: Milly Arbaje-Thomas ’95, M.S.W. ’97, CEO of the Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunity Greater Boston voluntary school desegregation program; Claire Geruson ’13, M.S.W. ’19, a clinical social worker whose practice is based in person-centered, empowerment, and liberation frameworks; and BCSSW part-time faculty member Yvonne Castañeda M.S.W. ’18, who works with the Latinx population in a Boston community health setting.
Following the lecture, the school will present the 2022 Distinguished Alumni Awards, which recognize BCSSW alumni who have made significant contributions to the social work profession. This year’s honorees are community-based social work professional Leslie Domínguez-Santos M.S.W. ’01, author of a groundbreaking report on COVID-19 and social determinants of health in Chelsea, Mass., and Hunter College Silberman School of Social Work Assistant Professor Keith Chan M.S.W. ’06, Ph.D. ’13, whose research on social determinants of physical and mental health focuses on Asian Americans, immigrants, and older adults.
For more information on the event, and to register for a Zoom link, visit the event's site.
University Communications | January 2022
