Mag-Usap Monday: Re-imagining the Concept of Conservatism and Mental Health in The Filipinx American Community
Date / Time: Monday 3/11 at 3-4 pm Pacific
This Mag-Usap Monday will include a discussion on ideas about conservatism, depression, trauma. How is our community conceptualizing these terms? There will be a brief discussion on Dr. Donna Demanarig’s current research on Filipinx Americans regarding conservatism, colonial mentality and mental health (e.g., preliminary findings). Implications of this study on community work and mental health will be explored in addition to sharing of how we practice self-care.
Register for this free workshop at bit.ly/magusapmondays and meals are provided for free.
Location: Hybrid - Online on Zoom and In-person at HiFi Collective at 3200 W. Temple St. STE 100, Los Angeles, CA 90026
Guest Speaker: Dr. Donna Demanarig (she/her/siya), Assistant Teaching Professor, Clinical Psychology, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth
Bio: Dr. Donna Demanarig is an ethnically Filipinx American with both Indigenous and colonizer ancestries. She has ancestors from Spain and China. She also comes from the Bagóbo Tagabawa and Dyangan tribe in Mindanao, Philippines. As she continues to witness the pain and suffering of her people and relatives from other marginalized and minoritized communities due to systemic oppression and white supremacy, she has used her pain and frustration to be an accomplice in improving our communities in academia and in our field of psychology. One of her sheroes, Audre Lorde, articulated this anger best when she stated, “My anger has meant pain to me, but it has also meant survival, and before I give it up, I’m going to make sure that there is something at least as powerful to replace it on the road to clarity.” As a teacher, her pedagogy centers around decolonizing, antiracist, and inclusive lenses. She is honored to have the opportunity to cultivate that student-mentor relationship and to foster spaces for students who don't generally find college classrooms as places to which they belong. Additionally, part of her journey to giving back to her community is by intentionally using her scholarship to not only advance the field of psychology to a more just and inclusive worldview but to also serve. As a scholar-activist, she is dedicated to using her scholarship to collaborate with and benefit communities of color. She continues to channel her frustration towards systemic oppression by making good, necessary trouble in her role as a teacher, scholar, and as a leader. We should not have to look to our oppressors to seek validation; let us shift the atmosphere and heal and thrive like the powerful and strong community that we are. Isang Bagsak.