The University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Brynn Welch, Ph.D., associate professor in the College of Arts and Sciences’ Department of Philosophy, was selected to attend The Northeast Workshop to Learn About Multicultural Philosophy.

The annual event is a week long summer institute with the goal of equipping philosophy professors with multicultural competency.

As one of twenty applicants selected to NEWLAMP, Welch received training from experts on how to build a better curriculum and a broader canon in social and political philosophy, with the hope to increase interest from underrepresented students, impacting inclusiveness and diversity in the field.

“The workshop changed not only what readings I assign or what topics I cover, but it fundamentally changed how I think about the project of philosophy,” Welch said. “I had to rethink the way I was trained and what I thought it meant to be doing philosophy or to be a philosopher. The entire experience was transformative, and I'm immensely grateful to the three experts who very generously gave of their time, energy, and expertise to make this happen.”

Each year, the event focuses on a different area, and the Summer 2022 focus was African/Africana philosophy.