The Languages, Literatures, and Cultures Diversity and Equity Committee (previously Hispanic Studies Diversity and Equity Committee) originates as a commitment to social inclusion. Since the committee's inception in 2017, our mission has been to promote a positive valorization of diversity inside and outside the university. We seek to raise awareness regarding the obstacles that this valorization faces in everyday practices, and to contend those obstacles by educating the community and by solving issues, supporting victims, taking effective measures against conflict, and applying corresponding rules that promote and protect diversity. For attaining these goals, we actively work in conjunction with McGill’s Social Equity and Diversity Officers.

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The LLC DEC surges as a response to experiences of prejudice and stereotyping that directly affect the life of several minority groups on campus. As members of the Languages, Literatures, and Cultures department at McGill University, we believe it is our responsibility not only to acknowledge the wide diversity that exists in our community, but also to recognize and counteract the persistence of practices of discrimination ranging from unconscious everyday bias to systemic and deliberate attitudes and actions. Therefore, we advocate for the education of intellectual leaders with a deep sensibility for issues of inclusion, equity, and diversity in relation to race, gender, sexuality, nationality, citizenship, language, ability, age, religion, class, etcetera. As such, we strive to bring the topics of diversity and equity to the front in the different spheres of the academic life: teaching, learning, socializing, publishing, hiring, etcetera. Moreover, we actively participate in the education of fellow McGillians by organizing workshops, facilitating discussion gatherings, and engaging in community interventions.

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The LLC DEC is committed to the encouragement of an inclusive climate that has a positive impact on the experiences of students, faculty, and staff in the academic community, and respects their individual and collective identities. As part of the Languages, Literatures, and Cultures department at McGill, we feel a deep obligation to promote topics of diversity and equity that directly touch our identities as scholars but also as human individuals. Our department transcends continental and hemispheric borders, which situates us in the vortex of cultural dynamics of inequality and power. From this position, we face challenges, but at the same time, we have the possibility –and the responsibility—to reflect and speak critically based on our experiences. We believe we must play a part in the creation of strong basis on which to build an inclusive climate for engaging respectful, equal, and diverse exchanges and interactions in our communities.

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