Articulating Whiteness in Social Studies Curricular Spaces

• In Event: 47.091 - Marking the Invisible: Articulating Whiteness in Social Studies

Abstract

Papers in Group 2 research a range of curricular spaces in social studies. In the first paper, authors unpack how economics is often painted as a value-neutral, objective discipline (Brant, 2016), yet it holds potential to analyze structural racism (King & Finley, 2015). This paper uses tenets of Critical Race Theory to evaluate a set of economic standards that deny the existence of race (Texas Education Agency, 2011) and posit ways to include Racial Pedagogical Content Knowledge (RPCK) (Chandler, 2015) into curriculum where race is superficially absent, essentially ‘mining’ race-neutral standards for racial content (Vickery, Holmes, & Brown, 2015).
Data sources included the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills standards for the course titled “Economics with Emphasis on the Free Enterprise System and Its Benefits”. The TEKS in economics do not refer to a host of racial terms or issues, effectively denying the relevance of race in the study of economics, while glorifying the so-called ‘Free-Enterprise System’ at every turn. Yet, the excavation of these standards through a CRT lens reveals that there are dozens of ways to study economics while simultaneously analyzing society through a CRT lens.

In the second paper, the author unpacks how students exposed to world religions content in textbooks places specific and unequal value on white male contributions conveys the message of this content as the “correct” version of social studies (Broudy, 1987). Such messages reinforce the inaccurate and antiquated content structures of “great white men” historiography (Lerner, 1986) and “White Social Studies” (Chandler & Branscombe, 2015). Over 20 content analysis studies published between 1970 and 2013 investigated women’s agency in world history textbooks and the findings indicated that the marginalization of women overall and the blatant omission of women of color were left unaddressed by publishers. This study focused on examining how Sarah, Hagar, Mary, Mary Magdalene, Khadīja, Fāṭima, and A’isha - early prominent Middle Eastern religious women in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam - were ethnically portrayed in world history textbook imagery compared to their male counterparts.

Finally, the third paper studies resources of the new online National Women’s History Museum (NWHM). The authors’ goal is to offer guidance for educators on how they can use the materials provided alongside culturally responsive practices in an effort to decenter whiteness. Social studies curricula across the US have remained remarkably the same – a narrative of white male progress with token stories of women, Black, Asian, Latinx and the erasure of LGBTQ Americans and Indigenous peoples. This paper used Critical Race Theory (Delgado, 1995; Delgado & Stefanic, 2012) as a theoretical frame, specifically looking at evidence of interest-convergence and counter narrative storytelling. Authors examined the resources using the same codes that were used within the museum’s national report. Second, they used critical race theory (Delgado, 1995; Delgago & Stefanic, 2012) to examine the extent to which women of color were included within these resources. Authors used the lesson plans, posters, primary sources, biographical sketches, and virtual field trips provided by the NWHM in their online educational resources.

Authors

• Neil Shanks, Baylor University

• Delandrea Hall, The University of Texas at Austin

• Erica Southworth, St. Norbert College

• Lauren Colley, The University of Alabama - Tuscaloosa

• John P. Broome, University of Mary Washington