The Challenges of Human Difference and the Resources of Black Pragmatism

• In Event: AERA Virtual Poster Session 7
  In Poster Session: Dewey Poster Session

Abstract

During Dewey’s lifetime and since, Black pragmatists have grappled with the barriers that White supremacism has posed to realizing Dewey’s democratic vision for this country. The resources they have provided can inform the work of educators who are seeking today to create more equitable pedagogical cultures and relationships. I begin here with an exploration of the contributions of Alain Locke and Eddie Glaude, both of whom have drawn on Dewey and James in different ways in order to advance the practical work of seeing the world differently and of acting to make needed change. In their frank engagements with the dark realities Dewey avoided, Locke and Glaude impart a renewed sense of relevance to the work of our earliest pragmatists.

Author

• Susan Jean Mayer, Critical Exploration Press