What's So "Micro" About "Microaggressions"? A Reexamination of a Critical Term to Better Inform Public Scholarship

• In Event: Poster Session 12
  In Poster Session: The Complexity and Multiple Spaces of Social Justice in Action

Abstract

As a theoretical piece, this paper examines how the term "microaggressions" needs re-examination to better describe the racist actions of those perpetrating such acts. Using Critical Race Theory (CRT) as a framework, the author examines how current public understanding of "micro" as “small” might minimize these acts in the eyes of a White perpetrator. This holds great consequence for White teachers, who often have limited understanding of structural racism, as well as the pain such acts incur on the victims. Only by renaming such acts to reflect the inherent racism within them can educators and the public at large begin to realize that such aggressions are anything but “micro.”

Author

• Scott D. Farver, Michigan State University