Bristol Dental School is delighted to announce that Dr Eleanor Fleming, will be visiting us from 8 January to 18 February 2024, under the auspices of a Bristol Next Generation Visiting Researchship. The overarching aim of this visiting researchship is to allow Dr Fleming to share her expertise on, as well as continue her researching into decolonising dentistry and anti-racist and anti-oppressive practice in dentistry.
Dr Eleanor Fleming (she/her/hers) is a Clinical Associate Professor of Dental Public Health and Assistant Dean for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry in West Baltimore, Maryland, USA. She was an inaugural National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education Academic Diversity Officer Fellow (2022-2023). Prior to her appointment at the University of Maryland, she was an Associate Professor of Dental Public Health and the Director of the Center for Educational Development and Support at Meharry Medical College (2020-2021). She transitioned to academic dentistry after spending nine years as an epidemiologist where she investigated health inequities and informed public health practice.
Her work focuses on equity and justice in academic dentistry using antiracism to inform curricula and practices to support a diverse oral health workforce and advance health justice. She leads strategic efforts at the University of Maryland School of Dentistry and within professional organizations to advance health equity and diversity science. As a subject matter expert, she co-edited a special issue of The Journal of Public Health Dentistry “Antiracism in Dental Public Health: Engaging Science, Education, Policy, and Practice” (2022). She has published and presented her work nationally and internationally.
While in Bristol she will deliver the following talks:
Dental school staff talk- Tuesday 6th February 12.30-13.30. Room 2nd floor computer suite(hybrid).
Transforming dental education
This talk is concerned with the question – what is dental education for? What does it mean to be a dental care professional in the 21st century? How has, or should, dental training and practice change in response to the social, economic and political realities that co-constitute the lives of practitioners and patients. This talk will look at the role that decolonisation and anti-racist thinking/theorising and practice can play in redefining the priorities or ‘needs’ of dental education and put dental education and dental curricula on an anti-inclusive and anti-oppressive practice path.
Link to Teams meeting is as follows:
Click here to join the meeting
Meeting ID: 325 931 003 589
Passcode: xCxLtd
Please complete the form to allow us to manage in-person attendance in Room 2.61.
https://forms.office.com/e/pSEkUux5qS
Student talk: Wednesday 7th February 2024, 9.00-11.00am, Room 5.15, Dental School
‘Equality and anti-racism’
In this teaching session with Yr 4 BDS and Yr 3 BSc students, Dr Fleming will critically reflect on the title of this segment ‘Equality and anti-racism’ to ask instead, what about justice? What would a justice-centred approach to dental practice look like? How can best practice become more aligned with anti-racist and anti-oppressive practice?
Open lecture talk: Thursday 14th February, 3-4.30 pm G.42, Dental School(hybrid) Booking details to follow
Decolonizing Dentistry to Centre Health Justice: Dismantling White Supremacy and Power from Oral Health
Held in conjunction with Centre for Black Humanities and the Black and Brown Bioethics Network, this talk will contemplate the inherent whiteness of dentistry, and the epistemic, empirical and institutional biases of oral healthcare. Drawing on contributions from Black (feminist) theory, decolonisation principles and tenets, critical race theory and anti-oppressive work, this talk will create and hold a space to imagine a counter-hegemonic view of dentistry as a healthcare system, educational system, research and clinical practice.
The link to the Teams invite is as follows:
Please complete the form to allow us to manage in-person attendance in Room G42, Bristol Dental School, BS2 0PT.
https://forms.office.com/e/HushyVVcjx
Click here to join the meeting
Meeting ID: 366 791 333 155
Passcode: ivjYV3