Making Meaningful Connections

Creating Community through Inspiring Workshops

Language functions include communication, play, emotional release, and learning — all things found at this year’s Deepening Understanding Conference.  

For the first time since 2019, this year’s conference was primarily hosted in person giving us the space to learn and play in community. We met over three days and had the opportunity to choose from nine different workshops, a few of which are highlighted below. More than one hundred and sixty participants joined from every HDAE department — some new to the conference and others long-time attendees joining us since the conference’s inception in 2015.  

Professor Gerardo Aldana gave this year’s keynote presentation. Professor Aldana teaches Chicana/o studies at UCSB and is the Director of the Repository for Archaeological and Ethnographic Collections. The creators of the superhero blockbuster, Black Panther 2: Wakanda Forever, called upon his expertise in Mesoamerican civilization to inform the characters based on the Mayan people. His presentation talked about the importance of an accurate portrayal of the Mayan culture in making the movie and the attention given to every detail, including the naming of the hero Namor. In addition to providing background expertise, he was invited to play a small role as the United Nations Chairman and share a scene with Angela Bassett. He generously answered questions from attendees and posed with his many HDAE fans for pictures. We all enjoyed his warmth, generosity, and his parting message about the importance of extreme humility and generous empathy as the path to true allyship. We will replay Professor Aldana’s keynote presentation on June 2 at noon. Bring your lunch; lemonade and cookies will be provided. Sign up here.  

Eric Zobel and Carol Hirashima, HDAE’s recently retired and current Graphic Artist and Webmaster, used their gifts to lead a workshop called Video Storytelling to demonstrate connecting with family, friends, and co-workers. Eric’s enthusiasm on the topic shined, and Carol’s masterful editing skills provided a marketing tool we will be able to use in future years for the promotion of Deepening Understanding. 

Michael Kenji Takahara, from UCSB Health & Wellness, presented “What Gets in the Way of Self-care?” He shared his personal story and vulnerability, making the space feel safe and personalized. His presentation included play in the form of music and singing, emotional release, and open and honest communication. He started the presentation with a welcoming meditation about respect, inclusion, and valuing differences.    

We closed out our event with a great presentation from a 4th-year graduate student in the
Department of Linguistics, James Yee. James shared his fascinating personal story of his ancestors who have lived in Santa Barbara and are enmeshed in Santa Barbara’s history for untold generations, including the role that the land UCSB stands on played in the Chumash culture.  

We’re grateful to all of our presenters who help us keep the mission of the Deepening Understanding Conference alive with their participation, embodying Professor Aldana's message of radical compassion and radical humility as a concept for allyship. We are also grateful to our staff who show up to learn more about understanding and respecting differences while continuing their personal and professional development. We hope that by using language to connect, we will better understand why respecting and understanding differences matter and continue to bring us together as a community.  

See you next year!