Disengagement From Discussions of Race and Anti-Blackness in an Arts-Integration Course: A Narrative Inquiry

• In Event: Reimagining Arts Integration Course Content and Instruction: A/r/tography in Search of Equity and Belonging

Abstract

This a/r/tographic narrative inquiry examines my perceptions of student disengagement from coursework and in-class discussions related to race, racism, and antiblackness in a remote, experiential arts integration course for preservice elementary teacher education majors. This narrative leverages a/r/tography to situate my identity as an artist, researcher, and teacher, as I reflect on my experiences as an international instructor of color in a predominantly white class of future elementary educators. In this fiction-based narrative inquiry, I bring art/i/facts (Creps, 2020) from the course, including teaching materials, student work, and personal memories, in conversation with a fictionalized rendering of my experiences teaching the course.

THE AUTHOR dreads the next activity. Expecting silent breakout rooms, she explains the instructions for the next in-class activity. The joyous colours of her powerpoint presentation disappear as she returns to a Zoom screen without faces. Is anyone listening?, she thinks, and divides them up into 5 breakout rooms for small group discussion. “See you in 25 minutes”, she says, and without a word, the students join the breakout rooms and their names flash out of her screen. Would the photographs of Black Lives Matter protestors make them feel something? Would they speak today? Would they realize the cost of their silence?

This fiction-based narrative inquiry examines three potential reasons for the detachment the students have with the content: (i) The students are unaware of how to respond to questions around race; (ii) The students do not feel a sense of community in their online classroom to be able to engage in-depth; and (iii) Having an instructor of color restricts them from freely sharing their opinions, harboring the fear that they might say something offensive. This narrative inquiry investigates the potential interpersonal, social, and political dynamics at play during conversations about race, racism, and antiblackness in a remote undergraduate teacher education course that incorporates the study of culturally sustaining pedagogy (Paris, 2012) within the context of arts education. This paper grapples with how the challenges that plague our world today like the issues of race, racism, and antiblackness and a continued reflection and questioning of them can inform a change towards more equitable arts education. As the messiness of online learning unfolds, which was forced into play by the pandemic, we find the instructor struggling, failing, and sometimes succeeding in her attempts to create more critical dialogue in the classroom.

Author

• Darshana Devarajan, Michigan State University