“I’m really excited as someone who grew up in California to see this more expansive, intercultural education being promoted and encouraged.” “There’s a lot of really exciting energy that is happening in ethnic studies departments across California, and especially at Cal Poly,” Heberling said.
Heberling was drawn to California, where she had grown up, after it became the first state in the nation to require ethnic studies in public high school curriculum. While working on her dissertation, Heberling taught classes on various subjects ranging from writing composition to Indigenous research methods. in English at the University of Washington in 2021. She is currently working on an article that examines the relationship between colonialism, catastrophic waters and surfing in three creative non-fiction works by Indigenous writers.īefore coming to Cal Poly, Heberling earned her Pd.D. Her most recent work focuses on aesthetic and formal innovations in twentieth and twenty-first century California Native literatures. Lydia Herberling’s areas of expertise are in American Indian literatures, with a focus on the literatures from Indigenous California, as well as the emerging field of critical surf studies. This quarter, Castillow is teaching Introduction to African American Studies (ES 254), but he hopes to later be able to offer a course on Black masculinities and possibly a future study abroad course in Trinidad and Tobago. “The interdisciplinarity allows students with varied interests to engage in the class, and it also challenges all of us to approach key questions in Ethnic Studies from different perspectives.” “During an academic quarter, students might read historical texts, ethnographic texts, literature and poetry,” Castillow said. Previously, Castilow was also a recipient of the Southern Regional Education Board Doctoral Fellowship, and he was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to complete research in Trinidad and Tobago.Īccording to Castillow, the interdisciplinary aspect of teaching ethnic studies is what he finds most rewarding in his classes. in anthropology from Tulane University and his BA in international studies from Morehouse College. Specifically, Castillow’s research has focused of these concepts within the middle class of Trinidad and Tobago, but he is currently in expanding it to include the same concepts within Black communities of the southern United States.īefore coming to Cal Poly, Castillow earned his Ph.D. All have been involved in diversity, equity and inclusion efforts in their departments, our college, the university and in the community.ĭan Castillow’s areas of expertise are in Black masculinities, racism and antiblackness in leisure culture. In 2021, the Ethnic Studies Department welcomed Assistant Professors Dan Castillow, Lydia Heberling and Ryan Buyco as part of CLA’s 2021-22 DEI-Focused Cluster Hires. This search was designed to attract a diverse group of academics invested in inclusive teaching and dedicated to scholarly contributions in this area. Ethnic Studies Department Welcomes Three New Faculty Members In DEI-Focused Cluster Hire