“The Stone the Builder Refused”: Critical Spirituality, The Boondocks, and Not Being the Problem

• In Event: Roundtable Session 7
  In Roundtable Session: Issues of Race, Class, and Gender in the Classroom

Abstract

In all forms of media, the interrogation of Black masculinity has been apparent since the advent of papyrus. In any age, literacy and the construction of knowledge directly connects to maintenance of power. This is also true when examining curriculum and its effect on African-American males. One glaring construct rarely considered in this type of racialized curriculum research is the notion of spirituality. Specifically, the author examines how Critical Spirituality affects the understanding of curriculum in the context of a satirical animated series. Using a Critical Discourse Analysis methodology, the author analyzes the Boondocks animated series to (1) understand the curriculum of the Boondocks (2) understand how critical spirituality combats traditional curriculum when shaping maleness and identity within schooling.

Author

• Brian Whitney Collier, Miami University