African American English Speakers and Predominantly White Institutions: Examination of Frameworks for Critically Understanding Racial and Linguistic Oppression

• In Event: Theoretical and Methodological Potentialities

Abstract

This paper examines the theoretical ways that we study the language of African American English (AAE) speakers in higher education spaces. Language and race ideologies are often connected, but not explored in critical ways. Conducting research in a hostile space, like a predominantly white institution(PWI) for AAE speakers can be counterproductive if we do not understand the risks and utilize frameworks that value Black students’ cultural and linguistic practices. To try to fully understand the complexities of AAE speakers, I propose the merge of following two theoretical frameworks: Critical Race Theory and Ethnography of Communication.

Author

• Dominique Clayton, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign