Boogeyman Politics: A Critical Content Analysis of Indiana’s Repeal of Ethnic Studies

• In Event: Following Policy to Witness the Harms of Epistemic Hierarchy

Abstract

This paper investigates the strategic mobilization of white backlash in the state of Indiana, where the state-level ethnic studies mandate for secondary education was recently eliminated. Drawing from critical race theory, whiteness studies, and the concept of epistemicide, we examine the discursive and political frames that led to the elimination of the ethnic studies mandate in Indiana. Through a critical content analysis of policy documents, school board meeting transcripts, mission statements, and social media posts, our findings highlight how actors positioned ethnic studies as a curricular “boogeyman,” anchored in divisiveness, indoctrination, and anti-Americanism to justify its removal. We argue that the repealment is emblematic of a national pattern to preserve white cultural hegemony.

Authors

• Jasmin Patron-Vargas, Texas A&M University

• Lynette O’Neal, Texas A&M University