What began nearly a decade ago as a 500-word Teaching Tip that Dr. Tommy Mayberry first wrote while an instructional developer at the University of Waterloo’s Centre for Teaching Excellence in 2017 (and which is still one of UW CTE’s most-clicked Teaching Tips to date!) has since evolved into a highly-sought-after and needed-now-more-than-ever public dialogue and public scholarship presentation (“Gender Pronouns and Cultures of Respect”) that Dr. Tommy has presented over 75 unique times with local to international corporate and community partners as well as educational institutions and governmental bodies.

In 2024 and beyond, Dr. Tommy started shifting the focus of this work from solely cultures of respect to identifying unambiguously our duties of care with gender pronouns for the survival of queer, trans, and nonbinary folx. Starting off with some grammar and linguistic history to identify what pronouns are and where they come from in our language as well as how they work (and don’t work), Dr. Tommy then shares in this session their own story and lived experiences of coming to know and to love themself with three series of pronouns. This sets the stages for Dr. Tommy to create and host a space together with our Yorkville and TFS community for an open, frank, honest, and vulnerable interactive discussion about gender pronouns and our individual and community responsibilities as higher education professionals to increasingly ensure that our services and campus spaces are life-giving, not life-taking, for our students, for ourselves, and for each other.

While participants may attend virtually by registering for this event, the Library team will also host viewing parties at the following locations: BC/New Westminster Campus, Steeles/Ontario Campus (Learning Commons).

More details about viewing parties to follow!