Technoskepticism & TrapCrit (Poster 10)

• In Event: Theory-Stories and Social Studies Education

Abstract

Technoskepticism

In today’s world, new technologies emerge at such a rapid pace that it can= be difficult to determine their diverse effects and make decisions about what roles they should play in democratic societies. We offer technoskepticism as antidote. Technoskepticism is a practice by which people and organizations suspend judgment and critically inquire into the unintended, collateral, and disproportionate effects of technology. Cultivating this disposition in students requires intentional pedagogies and practices because it is much easier to see technologies for their intended or stated purposes. In this chapter, we challenge technological solutionism, theorize technoskepticism, and offer applications for social studies education.

TrapCrit

This conceptual work introduces a trap critical theory (TrapCrit) for social studies education. TrapCrit asserts that trap music—a subgenre of hip-hop— illuminates the systematically excluded counter-narratives of individuals experiencing oppression and rejects anti-Black narratives of respectability that attempt to dictate how individuals make sense of oppressive lived experiences. Through the examination of three trap songs, including Preach and Get Paid by Young Dolph, and Trauma by Meek Mill, this work contents that trap music’s exemplification of counter storytelling, a grounding in sociopolitical awareness, and the expression of joy as resistance can deeply transform the way we think about how individuals respond to oppressive experiences. The goal of this articulation of TrapCrit is to initiate conversation about how trap music can serve as a radical space that deconstructs anti-Black narratives of oppression, respectability, and belonging. At its core, TrapCrit urges a refocus on dismantling oppressive systems rather than dictating how individuals discuss and process oppressive experiences. This refocus calls on educators to be critical of the ways educational institutions operate, and question the way they perpetuate oppression, even in unintended ways, and recognize the “enoughness” of their students (Woodson & Love, 2019).

Authors

• Daniel G. Krutka, University of North Texas

• Marie K. Heath, Loyola University Maryland

• Jacob Pleasants, University of Oklahoma

• Kelly R. Allen, Augusta University