Racial Literacies in Praxis: Confronting Dysconsciousness as a Public Educational Priority in Teacher Education

• In Event: Sheraton Roundtable Session 34
  In Roundtable Session: Racial Literacies and Pedagogies

Abstract

This paper explores racial literacy as a heuristic for supporting White teacher candidates’ abilities to thinking critically about race and racism in educational context. Of particular importance is situating dysconsciousness and DuBois’ theory of double-consciousness alongside one another, not as binaries, but as healthy compliments for teacher candidates to build the academic, social, cultural, and political complexities of race. The study examines over 20 hours of White teacher candidates video reflections and transcriptions indexing their language using sociolinguisitcs and discourse analysis identifying uses of language in building racial literacies. The research finds discussions of race that permit students to make connections to their own lives and experiences create greater opportunity for racial literacies to emerge.

Author

• Ayanna F. Brown, Elmhurst College