Addressing Bias, Bigotry and Discrimination at UC Davis 

The UC Davis Department of Internal Medicine is proud to announce a new speaker series that is focused on providing a safe forum for discussing and learning more about the current conflict in the Middle East.

The speaker series Addressing Bias, Bigotry and Discrimination at UC Davis kicks off on January 16 with speaker Kenneth Stern who is the director of Bard Center for the Study of Hate. In his talk Understanding Antisemitism as a Form of Hate, Stern will discuss what antisemitism is and how a deeper understanding of hate studies can help us better understand this prejudice mentality.

Understanding Antisemitism as a Form of Hate

Featuring Kenneth Stern
Director, Bard Center for the Study of Hate

January 16, 2025
Main event: Noon - 1 p.m. (in-person and virtual)
Small group discussion: 1-2 p.m. (in-person only)
Location: UC Davis Medical Center, Education Building 4610 X St., Sacramento, Calif. (Room to be shared closer to the event with those who RSVP)

This new speaker series is part of the UC Davis Dynamic Discussions campaign, which aims to provide the UC Davis community with useful content, resources and events that will foster respectful dialogue at our university even amid intense local, national or global events or issues.

A Desire to Stop Silent Suffering
Mithu Molla, MBA, M.D., who is a director at the UC Davis Office of Medical Education, was motivated to bring this new speaker series to UC Davis Health after seeing how faculty and staff were dealing with immense trauma and stress related to the conflict in the Middle East, both personally and professionally, as well as seeing how conflict in the Middle East was affecting college campuses around the country, including the main UC Davis campus.

“I just noticed how many of my colleagues, from diverse backgrounds like Muslim, Palestinian and Jewish, were silently suffering without an outlet to process their experiences and perspectives,” Molla said. “As physicians it’s important for us to understand those experiences and perspectives so we can be empathetic when we work with patients, students, residents and other colleagues.”

Open Dialogue and Understanding
Recognizing the need for open dialogue and understanding, Dr. Molla applied for a grant to create a new speaker series. The goal was to bring in renowned experts and thought leaders to share their knowledge and insights on critical topics like antisemitism, Islamophobia, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the impacts of systemic racism.

With the help of Division Coordinator Carmelita Ramirez, Dr. Molla carefully curated a lineup of speakers that would provide a range of perspectives. In selecting speakers, Dr. Molla and Ramirez often sought input from members of the Muslim, Palestinian and Jewish communities.

Speaker Series Includes Wide Range of Speakers
Some of the speaker series will include scholars like Rania Awad, M.D. who will be discussing Islamophobia, Jamil Dakwar who will lead a discussion about war crimes and addressing accountability in the Middle East, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Isabel Wilkerson exploring the concept of the Caste system in American society.

“We're just going through this incredible trauma together, but we're not allowed to debrief. We're not allowed to talk about it or process it,” Molla said, “and so bringing all these speakers together in this forum is a way for us to share perspectives, to try to understand each other and to process.”

Fostering Diverse Viewpoints
The Addressing Bias, Bigotry and Discrimination at UC Davis series was intentionally integrated into the department's existing Grand Rounds, a weekly lecture series typically focused on medical topics. Dr. Molla saw this as an opportunity to expose the typical Grand Rounds audiences to diverse viewpoints they may not otherwise encounter. By creating a safe space for open dialogue and mutual understanding, the new speaker series aimed to foster empathy, compassion and academic freedom within the medical community.

“When we can understand each other's perspectives a little bit more, we can be that much more supportive,” Molla said. “I think it's so important as a medical community, as an academic community, for us to support each other through these traumas that we're experiencing. We all value each other as human beings, no matter what the controversies are.”

To register and receive details about the Addressing Bias, Bigotry and Discrimination at UC Davis speaker series, visit https://diversity.ucdavis.edu/dynamic-discussions-events .