Researching Race and Ethnicity: Methods and Applications in the 20th Century

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This session explores innovative approaches to researching race and ethnicity in 20th-century educational contexts. The papers in this panel tell stories from across the United States, providing insights into the ways that race and ethnicity is created and maintained in a variety of contexts. Specifically, papers highlight Indigenous higher education, corporal punishment and carcerality in the South, bilingual education in the Northeast, Pakistani immigrants educational aspirations in the Midwest, and segregated schools in Salt Lake City. By examining these diverse histories, this session highlights methodological insights and challenges in studying the intersections of race, ethnicity, and education. This session will illuminate how education has both reflected and reinforced racial and ethnic dynamics, offering new directions for historical inquiry.

Sub Unit

• Division F - Historical Inquiry in Education

Chair

• Jennifer Johnson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Papers

• Fundamentally Indian: The History and Development of Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) 1968–1994 - Joey Shepherd, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• The Historic Origins of Corporal Punishment and Carcerality in the American South - Gariel Pierce, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• Bilingual Education in a Northeastern City: Voices Over Time - Robert Cotto, Trinity College

• Educational Aspirations in Midwestern Pakistani Immigrant Households. 1965-1999 - Itrat Sultan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

• “Carpeting the Sumner”: West Side and Central City Schools in Salt Lake City - Callie Avondet, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Session Organizer

• Callie Avondet, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Discussant

• Jennifer Johnson, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign