Ethnic Studies Workshops
The Center for RIDGS Studies hosts several virtual workshops each year, facilitated by graduate student researchers and community experts. Each workshop will describe and model how lesson plans from the RIDGS Ethnic Studies Initiative can be used in the classroom.
Information about upcoming workshops will be posted below. You can also receive notifications about new workshops and other resources for K-12 ethnic studies educators by joining our Ethnic Studies Initiative Google Group.
Upcoming Workshops
Introduction to Cambodian-American Studies through Story, Art, and Memory
Hosted by the Cambodian American Partnership of Minnesota (CAP-MN)
Date: Tuesday, August 12,
Time: 9:00am - 3:30pm
Location: Bloomington Public Schools
The year 2025 marks 50 years since Southeast Asian resettlement in the U.S. following the fall of Saigon in 1975. This milestone is especially meaningful for Cambodian American communities, many of whom arrived as refugees and have since contributed significantly to Minnesota’s social, cultural, and civic life.
This workshop will center on the lived experiences and resilience of Cambodian Minnesotans, using story, art, and memory as pedagogical tools. Participants will engage with oral histories, visual art, and archival materials while learning strategies for culturally relevant, trauma-informed, and community-centered teaching. CAPMN will collaborate with Cambodian American artists, elders, and educators, alongside a University of Minnesota–affiliated research assistant, to ensure that the workshop supports both classroom integration and long-term curricular development.
Lunch is included.
Through this experiential and community-rooted approach, the workshop will support educators in teaching toward the Ethnic Studies Anchor Standards:
● Identity: Participants will explore how colonization, war, and migration have influenced the identities and aspirations of Cambodian Americans in Minnesota and elsewhere. This focus on identities will support K-12 student learning and critical thinking.
● Resistance: Teachers will examine historical and contemporary examples of resistance and resistance and resilience within Cambodian refugee communities. This focus on resistance and organizing will support students to better engage to critically analyze systems of power and oppression.
● Ways of knowing: Through a focus on refugees’ survivor narratives and traditional Cambodian arts, the workshop will support teachers' pedagogical knowledge about nondominant methods of knowing in support of K-12 student learning.
This workshop is free and open to K-12 educators who teach or plan to teach ethnic studies content and use ethnic studies-based pedagogies. Space is limited and available on a first-come, first-serve basis. If you are no longer able to attend, please email [email protected] and [email protected] as soon as possible to free your seat.
Speaking Stories, Building Bridges: Centering Asian Ethnic Histories and Community Voices in K–12 Classrooms
Hosted by We As One Education
Date: Wednesday, July 23
Time: 9:00am - 3:00pm
Location: Urban Resource and Outreach Center (UROC)
This full-day workshop is designed to support Minnesota-based K–12 educators—including ethnic studies teachers, world language and culture instructors, and social studies educators—in effectively integrating Asian ethnic studies content and pedagogy into their classrooms. Through a combination of interactive morning training sessions and immersive afternoon guided tours, participants will gain the tools and knowledge to thoughtfully incorporate the histories, cultures, and lived experiences of Asian community groups in Minnesota. The workshop emphasizes culturally responsive teaching, community engagement in our K-12 classrooms, as well as curriculum development based on MN Ethnic Studies standards that reflects the diverse narratives and contributions of Asian American populations in our state.