Unmasking Neutrality: Racialization and the Teaching of the Civil Rights Movement

• In Event: 61.062 - The Disparate Stories of America

Abstract

This qualitative case study research examined how four white 11th grade U.S. history teachers in California conceptualized and taught about race when teaching the Civil Rights Movement. Using critical discourse analysis, I examined teachers’ lexical practices related to naming, verb tense, and presupposition in order to locate undergirding racial logics that either confirmed or diverged from their stated beliefs and goals. I examined how linguistic practices varied across classroom context and found that despite covering seemingly similar historical events, there was great variation the messages teachers conveyed to their students. This research highlights the potential utility of critical discourse analysis in unmasking meanings embedded in taken-for-granted historical narratives.

Author

• Charley Brooks, University of California - Santa Cruz