Global Studies Seminar presents Chris Crews

The Global Studies Seminar presents a talk titled “The Battle over Critical Race Theory in Ohio Schools” by Chris Crews, visiting assistant professor at Denison.

Like many other states in the country, Ohio is currently in the throes of a heated clash between proponents of racial justice and opponents who deny the realities of systemic racism. Over the past year, Ohio schools have become the focus of a concerted, national culture war being waged by white conservatives. In 2021 Critical Race Theory and institutional racism became central topics of public debate thanks to two-piece of legislation (Ohio House Bills 322 and 327) that will introduce a series of new “divisive concepts” which will be banned from discussion in Ohio schools, including institutions of higher education like Denison. This talk will focus on the political stakes for educators in Ohio from these two bills, while also critically situating these debates in relation to the deeper history of anti-Black politics in Ohio and the growing danger from white supremacist and nationalist movements globally.

Crews is a visiting assistant professor in the International Studies program at Denison. Prior to joining Denison, he taught in the Comparative Religion program at CSU, Chico in California, and the Area and Global Studies program at GVSU in Michigan. His areas of research include social movements, Indigenous rights, environmental justice, religious nationalism, and white supremacist politics. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy in Politics from the New School for Social Research in New York City.