Du Bois and Other Pedagogical Strategies: Teaching about Race as a Visibly Minority Faculty Member

• In Event: 1111 - Teaching Sociology: New Directions

Abstract

In this paper, I argue that the experience of teaching about race and racisms in the U.S. by visibly minority and/or immigrant faculty members comes with a set of unique challenges. I reflect and theorize on my own experience as a faculty member that embodies otherness and suggest some best practices for creating difficult dialogue in classrooms. I also argue that teaching Du Bois in a sociology of race and racisms course makes it possible to operationalize some best practices in pedagogy drawn from feminist epistemology, black feminist theory, and critical race theory. Some of these practices are: focusing on historicity, epistemic privilege, first-person narratives, and acknowledging discomfort. I also complicate these best practices by focusing on the issue of standpoint, objectivity, and the risks inherent in transgressive pedagogy— especially in our current political times.

Author

• Debjani Chakravarty, Utah Valley University