De-mobilization of Hate: Addressing Mass Violence

Join us in the search for solutions on Thursday, June 20th from 6:00 – 8:30 pm in the Hamline University Bush Center Ballroom (1537 Hewitt Ave, St Paul, MN 55104, USA). Check in begins at 5:30 pm.

Heartland Democracy and Hamline University Center for Justice and Law presents

De-mobilization of hate: Addressing mass violence in schools and society

Amid a growing climate of hate, the specter of mass violence looms large over our public spaces. From schools to synagogues, colleges to churches, mosques to shopping malls, terrible mass casualty events have claimed or changed countless lives worldwide and have stolen children’s innocence and adults’ sense of safety. How should we understand the violence of hate? How does hate emerge and spread both in person and online? And, most importantly, what can be done to prevent it? At this event, hear from a survivor of one of worst hate crimes in modern history, a sociologist studying violent extremism, and practitioners working to tackle hate in our classrooms and in our communities, as they engage in critical conversations to deconstruct and demobilize hate.

Keynote speaker, Bjorn Ihler, will be sharing his story of surviving mass violence. Bjorn is an academic, activist, technologist and storyteller working to end extremism. He is influenced by his experiences as a survivor of the attack on Utøya in Norway on the 22 July, 2011 and subsequent work with experts and former extremists. He is a One Young World ambassador and a Kofi Annan Foundation Extremely Together Young Leader. In 2016 he co-founded Omelas, a company using technology to challenge extremists.

Research will also be presented about mass shootings by Dr. James Densley, Co-Founder of The Violence Project. Dr. James Densley and his research partner, Dr. Jillian Peterson, have been leading a research study on mass shooters with a team of Hamline University students that was recently given a $300,000.00 grant from the National Institute of Justice. They have created a database of 150 mass shooters coded on 50 life history variables, which has received international media attention.

Sponsors:

• Heartland Democracy is a nonprofit that uses the tools of the humanities, art, and traditional civic engagement curricula to amplify the voices of members of our communities. They convene groups of students, immigrant women, and community members to explore the ways in which they can strengthen their relationships and skills to address challenges people face in our families, schools, and the world. Heartland received a large federal grant in 2017 to continue and expand our deep civic engagement programs, and to collaborate and convene important and challenging conversations about issues in our community and the world. Their proposal focused on building community resilience and violence prevention, especially focused on issues of hate, bias, discrimination, and political and extreme violence.
• The Hamline Center for Justice and Law works to advance justice by developing creative, concrete, and equitable solutions to legal issues and policy concerns through teaching, research, and active collaboration with community partners and policy makers.
• The Hamline School of Education trains educators to be practitioners, researchers, and leader-advocates. They have an innovative curriculum which prepares graduates to engage learners in different contexts and communities, with a rich understanding of the various systems that affect their practice.

Continuing Education Credit:

If you would like continuing education credit for this event, please register for the Continuing Education Credit ticket. Continuing education certificates will be sent via email after the conference.

This event is approved for 2 hours of continuing education credit by the Minnesota Board of Social Work and the Minnesota Professional Educator Licensing and Standards Board.

Refund Policy:

Tickets cannot be switched or refunded after they are purchased.

If you have any questions, please email us at cjl@hamline.edu.