“The South Has a Gravity”: Teaching Social Studies in the Soul of America

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

To live and work in the American South as a social studies educator, particularly in our current political climate, means having to navigate restrictive and oppressive legislation that impacts not only the work done in classrooms, but also the lived experiences and identity expressions of teachers and students. As social studies scholars working across four Southern states, we seek to understand how teachers make sense of being a part of the uniqueness of the South while also experiencing its ongoing oppressive legacy. Because this oppression is not new, this interactive town-hall symposium works to emphasize the legacy of resistance and resilience of preservice and in-service social studies teachers and examine the work being done throughout the South.

Sub Unit

• Division K - Teaching and Teacher Education / Division K - Section 08: Teachers’ Lives, Identities, and Journeys

Chair

• Cinthia S. Salinas, University of Texas at Austin

Papers

• Where the North Meets the South: Southern Complexity and Teaching in the Southeast - Delandrea Hall, University of North Texas; Anna Falkner, University of Memphis; Esther June Kim, College of William & Mary

• Texas and the Folklore of the South: Teaching in the Southwest - Amanda Elizabeth Vickery, University of North Texas; Neil Shanks, Texas A&M University; Steven R. Montemayor, Austin Community College

• Teaching Desegregation Stories - Anna Falkner, University of Memphis; Gina English Tillis, The University of Memphis

Discussant

• Noreen Naseem Rodriguez, Michigan State University