Dennis Williams II

Dennis Williams II is a doctoral student in the Department of Curriculum, Instruction, and Special Education. His research interests include critical research paradigms (i.e., poststructural analysis and critical quantitative methods), anti-oppressive education, mindfulness- and compassion-based pedagogy, and critical theory. He teaches undergraduate mindfulness courses at the University of Virginia and serves as a research assistant in the Contemplative Teaching and Learning Lab, assisting in research on educators' racialized biases.  

A former secondary special education teacher and adjunct instructor, Williams worked for several years in Richmond Public Schools and Virginia Commonwealth University's Gender and Women's Studies Department, where he taught courses titled Introduction to Gender Studies, Queer Cinema, and Visual Cultures of Oppression and Freedom. Williams has organized and presented in a variety of spaces and symposia. He is also a community activist and creative writer with publications in outlets like Johns Hopkins University's African American Review, Illinois State University's Obsidian Literature and Art in the African Diaspora, and the Richmond Racial Equity Essays series. 

M.Ed., Virginia Commonwealth University, 2018
M.A., Virginia Commonwealth University, 2014
B.A., Virginia Commonwealth University, 2012