“Taking Back our Worlds: Conversations during Times of Social Distancing” is a publicly engaged humanities project that explores the historical and contemporary conditions of social and environmental injustice in Milwaukee. “We focus on a long history of community struggles around housing and food justice,” says project director Arijit Sen. He adds, “This public history project highlights everyday human struggles and solidarities in search of a just society in Milwaukee.” Sen was recently awarded the University of Wisconsin System’s 12th Annual Regents Diversity Award.
Sen created the Buildings Landscapes Cultures (BLC) field school as part of UWM’s School of Architecture and Urban Planning, where he is an associate professor. “To move the conversation even further, we have invited partners from Humanities Action Lab and residents of Newark, New Jersey, to participate with our local community leaders in online discussions centered around housing and food injustice,” says Sen. The webinars will focus on “community solutions that offer resilient answers to these concerns.”
The project was restructured after the pandemic, which caused the postponement of the Milwaukee installation of a national traveling exhibition titled “Climates of Inequality,” which highlights ongoing research about these issues. It had been scheduled to open here in July, along with related in-person forums.