Ideological Becoming and the Development of Cultural Competence, Antiracist Schooling Practices, and Critical Empathy

• In Event: Doing Critical Discourse Analysis at the Nexus of Education, Equity, and Language, Literacy, and Teaching

Abstract

Presenter B focuses on the role of discourse in the development of cultural competence, anti-racist schooling practices, and what she refers to as critical empathy. As both a former high school teacher and a current Diversity and Equity Consultant, she uses critical discourse analysis (cda) as a “way in” to the complexities of modern schooling practices - specifically those that continue to marginalize minority students within predominantly white contexts. From this grounding, Presenter B has designed, facilitated, and researched critical professional development for white teachers working in predominantly white schools. This presentation will focus on the ways that cda specifically can support the development of effective, humanizing professional development which engages white teachers in the vulnerable and emotional labor of unlearning white supremacy. The critical discourse theories of Michel Foucault and Mikhail Bakhtin will also be expounded upon during this presentation in an effort to demonstrate how these concepts can be interwoven to create a more complete picture of teachers’ lived experiences and needs.  
 
Foucault argued that discourses are what construct knowledge about specific ideas or topics, and thus govern the ways these ideas or topics are engaged with. That is, discourses, which construct knowledge, regulate and maintain power over how people behave, think, and even feel/express emotions (Hall, 1997). A Foucauldian lens therefore illuminates the role of discourse in power relations in order to unveil the boundaries around specific institutional apparatuses, such as the law, sexuality, mental illness, or, in this case, education (Hall, 1997). It is these boundaries that Presenter B seeks to both - make visible through her research and dismantle through her consulting work. In order to bring these boundaries (i.e., discourses) into the visible range, Presenter B draws on Mikhail Bakhtin’s theories of ideological becoming and authoritative/internally persuasive discourses. According to Bakhtin, ideological becoming is the process through which one’s ideological self, or one’s “way of viewing the world, [or] our system of ideas,” (Freedman & Ball, 2004, p. 5) comes to be. Guided by these theorists, Presenter B defines discourse as: a social practice that does ideological work within a specific context, which is constructed by and constructs a way of speaking, acting, emoting, and writing about a topic or idea.
 
Furthermore, critical discourse analysis “stems from a critical theory of language which sees the use of language as a form of social practice,” and seeks to understand how discourse is “implicated in relations of power” (Janks, 1997, p. 329). It is concerned primarily with “the way social-power abuse, dominance, and inequality are enacted, reproduced, and resisted by text and talk in the social and political context” (van Dijk, 2003, p. 352), and whenever possible, it aims to do so “from a perspective that is consistent with the best interests of dominated groups” (van Dijk, 2011, p.96). Therefore, in seeking to help white teachers make visible the often, invisible discourses of Whiteness that permeate predominantly white spaces, cda can be an effective tool.

Author

• Maria McSorley, University of Massachusetts - Amherst