When Teaching Whiteness Threatens: Pedagogical Strategies for Teaching Whiteness

• In Event: 56.081 - Roundtable Session 24
  In Roundtable Session: 56.081-3 - Difficult Subjects: Radical Teaching in the Neoliberal University

Abstract

Teaching about race or racial justice--let alone the manifestations of whiteness and white supremacy in the U.S. educational system--in a predominantly White institution (herein PWI) not only taxes the souls of those educators who teach it (Matias, 2012; Stanley, 2006; Williams & Evans-Winters, 2005), it is also highly dangerous (Fasching-Varner, Albert, Mitchell, Allen, & Smith, 2015; Matias, 2016).
From racial battle fatigue that stems from constant racial microaggressions from both students and colleagues alike to the outright threats on educators’ lives, racially just educators in the academy are experiencing record high numbers of emotional, physical, intellectual, and spiritual assaults1 (Matias,
2013). Yet, despite this, racially just educators are steadfast in promoting a more racially equitable educational system often finding new ways to engage topics that the racially dominant find “controversial.” One such “controversial” topic is teaching the emotionalities of whiteness in education, especially within a field like urban teacher education whereby most of the educators believe themselves to be well-intentioned, liberal white females (Matias, 2013; Sleeter, 2001). The question then is how does one teach and research the emotionalities of whiteness in an institution that believes they are already unbiased, diverse, and inclusive?

This paper documents the emotional journey of two racially just college educators (one of color and one white) in their ceaseless effort to 1) introduce to the university and fight for the university’s first course ever on Problematizing Whiteness: Educating for Racial Justice, 2) battle with the university’s IRB on approving research that documents effective pedagogical strategies needed to teach whiteness courses in PWIs, and 3) unveil what kind of emotional fortitude is needed to engage in this field where mainstream public threaten your career, self, and family at every turn. Drawing from critical race theory’s methodology of counterstorytelling, which counter majoritarian stories (Solorzano & Yosso, 2002), this chapter artistically weaves in these counterstories to illuminate its pedagogical innovations. Beginning with a counterstory, this chapter first theoretically frames what is the emotionalities of whiteness and how it impacts the fruition of equitable education. The chapter continues by focusing on what battles one will face when instituting and researching the effectiveness of its first whiteness course. Finally, the chapter will divulge the emotional fortitude both educators needed to have in order to combat the “perceived threat” of teaching about Whiteness. In the end, readers will come away with a renewed sense of camaraderie that acknowledges the strength it takes to do this kind of work.

Authors

• Cheryl E. Matias, University of Colorado - Denver

• Lisa Silverstein, University of Colorado - Denver