That’s Our House! Let’s Take It Over!: Antiracist Pedagogy in Advocacy Courses

• In Event: Out of Your Chair and Into the Streets: Active Approaches to Civic Engagement

Abstract

Over the last ten years in the United States, organizers of color have worked to revitalize long languishing movements for racial justice. Movements that demand justice for Black, Latinx, Native American, and racialized immigrant groups have had a significant impact on contemporary political debates. Perhaps as a result of the success of these movements in reframing US political life, there has been a renewed interest in antiracist pedagogy. Increasingly, instructors are recognizing their responsibility for creating educational spaces and experiences that disrupt and challenge white supremacy.

Although instructors are increasingly interested in adopting antiracist pedagogical practices, the literature on antiracist pedagogy remains underdeveloped. Much of the literature is focused on traditional face-to-face instruction in the college classroom—identifying pedagogical practices that are tailored for classes that take place primarily or exclusively within the university environment.

Likewise, the literature on civic engagement in political science instruction has some important gaps. Although much of the research in political science education has focused on incorporating civic engagement into political science courses and curricula, within the civic engagement subfield, less attention has been paid to designing CE courses that challenge white supremacy and promote the development of democratic power among students from marginalized groups who are underrepresented in and by our political institutions.

In this paper, I offer some preliminary considerations about how antiracist pedagogy can be incorporated into civic engagement courses in political science. Specifically, I focus on how insights from the literature on antiracist pedagogy can inform course design for direct advocacy courses—courses that put students into direct contact with government decision-makers through advocacy work on policy issues. I consider the unique challenges that direct contact with government institutions pose for instructors who seek to provide antiracist educational experiences to their students.

Author

• Kathleen Cole, Metropolitan State University