Cal State San Bernardino’s annual Research Week – highlighted by the 12th annual Meeting of the Minds Student Research Symposium – will be celebrated April 10-14.

Research Week shines the spotlight on the research and scholarly achievements of faculty and students across campus in all disciplines. All faculty, staff and students are invited to participate in the event as student presenters and faculty moderators and judges, and to learn about what research and creative activities are currently taking place on campus.

The Meeting of the Minds Student Research Symposium, set for 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Thursday, April 13, in the Santos Manuel Student Union (SMSU) North Conference Center, and virtually, will showcase the research and creative activities of graduate and undergraduate students from throughout the university.

The Meeting of the Minds is an excellent opportunity for students to refine their presentation skills while sharing their talents and knowledge with others. Participants with the best oral and poster presentations will receive an award and be recognized during the reception and award ceremony.

Along with the Meeting of the Minds Student Research Symposium, the 2023 Research Week events are:

· Grand Slam: Monday, April 10, 5-7 p.m., SMSU North Conference Center. Join the Office of Graduate Studies for our university-wide Grand Slam. Watch as CSUSB students present their timely and provoking graduate work. The catch? They have to do it in three minutes or less to a non-expert audience and a panel of community judges. The winners will be awarded prize money and move on to the CSU-side competition. RSVP to the Grand Slam.

· Principal Investigator’s Reception: Tuesday, April 11, 4-6 p.m., SMSU South (106 A&B). The Principal Investigator’s Reception is held to honor faculty and project directors engaged in extramural grant activities.

· Faculty Book Launch: Wednesday, April 12, 10-11:30 a.m., PL-4005. The Faculty/Staff Book Launch is a biennial event honoring CSUSB faculty and staff authors who have published an academic text in the last two years. Join the Office of Graduate Studies as they highlight the literary publications of CSUSB’s talented and hardworking faculty. RSVP to the Faculty Book Launch.

· Mellon Mays Keynote Speaker, Raúl Pérez, “The Souls of White Jokes: How Racist Humor Fuels White Supremacy”: Wednesday, April 12, noon-1:30 p.m., Zoom. Having a “good” sense of humor generally means being able to take a joke without getting offended. Laughter is often seen as a way to ease tension in an overly politicized social world. But do the stakes change when the jokes are racist? In “The Souls of White Jokes,” Raúl Pérez, author and assistant professor of sociology at the University of La Verne, confronts this unsettling question, arguing that doing so is crucial to understanding the persistence of racism and white supremacy in American society. Drawing from W.E.B. Du Bois’ prescient essay, “The Souls of White Folk” (1920), Pérez synthesizes scholarship on race, humor and emotions to uncover how humor can function as a tool for producing racial alienation, dehumanization and even violence. Pérez tracks this use of humor from blackface minstrelsy to contemporary contexts, including police culture, politics and far-right extremists. Rather than being harmless fun, a thing of the past, or “just a joke,” Pérez illustrates how the current widespread use of racist humor plays a central role in reinforcing and mobilizing racist ideology, solidarity and inequality today. RSVP to the Mellon Mays Keynote event.

· Faculty/Student Research Mixer: 4-6 p.m., Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art. CSUSB faculty, students and alumni are invited for a night of food, games and music as the campus comes together to celebrate the annual Research Week. RSVP to the Faculty/Student Mixer.

· 12th annual Meeting of the Minds Student Research Symposium: 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m., virtual and SMSU North Conference Center. Celebrating the achievements of CSUSB students, “Meeting of the Minds” is a one-day event recognizing the outstanding scholarly and creative accomplishments of CSUSB graduate and undergraduate students. Join in on an opportunity to view student research and creative activities across various disciplines at CSUSB. RSVP to Meeting of the Minds.

· Recognition of Faculty Mentors and Student Researchers Luncheon (invite-only event): noon-2 p.m., SMSU North Amphitheater. This luncheon is held to honor the faculty who mentor students and acknowledge the students for their achievements in research and creative activities.

For more information on Research Week, contact the CSUSB Office of Student Research at osr@csusb.edu, and visit the Research Week webpage and the Meeting of the Minds webpage.