GSLL Statement on Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

The Department of GSLL welcomes, and affirms its commitment to supporting, all of our students, staff, and faculty. We welcome people of all genders, ages, races, ethnicities, sexualities, religious identities, nationalities, citizenships, backgrounds and abilities to our community.

We are committed to our students’ success and wellbeing. We work to meet the diverse learning needs of our students and recognize their diverse learning contexts. This includes challenging our students to engage with the diversity of human experience and expression, as well as confront the intersecting histories of gender, sexuality, race, antisemitism, ability, ethnonationalism, colonialism, imperialism. We examine harms and injustices, present and past, because we believe through such knowledge we can do better in the future. 

We recognize that working towards further diversity, equity, and inclusion is an ongoing process. We therefore further commit ourselves to learning and teaching about forms of oppression, and promoting diversity among our students, faculty, and staff and to providing equal opportunity to all.

We include all learners in our endeavors and believe that through recognition of differences comes appreciation of commonalities and ability to work with others. Learning multiple languages and experiencing other cultures through those languages can support diversity and inclusion.

We incorporate actively antiracist and antifascist approaches, and acknowledge historical injustices like colonialism and fascism. We prioritize equipping students to combat misinformation and prevent the repetition of past atrocities. Our faculty members are dedicated to promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within their disciplines, acknowledging institutional biases and advocating for oppressed minorities' advancement. 

We uphold the principles of academic freedom, fostering an environment where diverse perspectives are encouraged, intellectual curiosity thrives, and open discourse flourishes. 

Land Acknowledgment

The Department of Germanic and Slavic Languages and Literatures acknowledges and honors the traditional territories and Indigenous communities of the region and state of Colorado and supports the goals articulated by the University of Colorado. The department recognizes that the Â鶹ӰԺ was built on ancestral homelands of the Cheyenne, Ute, Arapaho, and many other Native American nations who have been targeted by forced removal and massacres in Colorado. We commit to the goals articulated by the Â鶹ӰԺ land acknowledgment

We recognize that many areas of study represented in our department exist as direct consequences of settler colonialism and Indigenous displacement. As learners and educators we actively commit to continued learning and action to address ongoing inequities.