Reconceptualizing Postracial: Barack Obama, Cultural Memory, and the Making of Official Knowledge

• In Event: Broadening Curriculum Spaces: Context and the Politics of Inclusion

Abstract

Drawing from the work of cultural memory and racial formation theory (Omi & Winant, 1994) we explore the narrative of Barack Obama’s ascension as an illustration of how race is understood and may become part of official school curricula. This paper focuses on the public media discourse of the 2012 Obama re-election to illustrate how the Obama narrative morphed racially from 2008 to 2012. Our findings suggest that the public discourse about ascension and re-election of Barack Obama drew from racial and post-racial narratives to describe his re-election. We encourage a nuanced and racially contextualized view of Obama’s presidency for both schools and society.

Authors

• William L. Smith, The University of Texas - Austin

• Anthony L. Brown, The University of Texas - Austin