Unsettling the "White Savior" Tradition: Reading Huck Finn Through a Critical Race Theory Lens

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 3
  In Poster Session: Social Studies Poster Session: Analyzing Curricula and Texts

Abstract

While much scholarship has argued the place of Huck Finn in the ELA canon, fewer studies have examined antiracist possibilities for teaching this revered canonical text.
Accordingly, this case study, which involved twenty-four eleventh grade students of American literature, asks: What successes and challenges did students face when reading Huck Finn through a critical race theory (CRT)/critical Whiteness studies (CWS) lens? Findings reveal that
applying a CRT/CWS lens helped students understand and identify CRT/CWT tenets while reading Huck Finn and extrapolate these theoretical tenets to their social worlds. Yet, 42% of students resisted the unit by using the White Talk discourse strategy of wishing they could “just read the book,” while some students demonstrated White rage.

Authors

• Jeanne Dyches, Iowa State University

• Deani Thomas, Iowa State University