Paper Title
Pedagogy of Inclusivity in a "Post-Racial" Classroom
Location
Room 221, DiGiorgio Campus Center (DiGs)
Keywords
pedagogy, critical race theory, feminist theory, teaching
Start Date
April 2016
End Date
April 2016
Abstract
This paper will explore dynamics of an inclusive classroom. Building on the work of bell hooks and Paulo Freire, this project seeks to highlight successful inclusion of the classroom and unsuccessful practices of pedagogy. Creating an inclusive classroom not only mirrors the importance of this practice in politics, but also highlights inequity within political action by studying the classroom as a microchasm of the political process. It is through the understanding and evaluation of the practice of pedagogy that allows for a larger application to the political process. Does the practice of knowledge require inclusion not just in the bodies represented, but in the texts studied, the people educating students, and the acknowledgment of absent voices and stories?
In Teaching to Transgress, hooks addresses points out most students resist the critical thinking process (10). This practice of resistance is often embraced and reproduced through pedagogy in the classroom. Because of this, hooks notes this also leads to students believe that they do not have to work to maintain democracy (14). If the thoughtful, engaged citizen is not developed through the process of critical pedagogy, is the academy fulfilling its role? According to Friere, the development of a praxis of critical pedagogy would rely on those who have historically been marginalized and excluded. Do these students exist in the classroom? How do we incorporate these voices? What is the role of the Professor in developing not only a praxis of inclusion, but also a democratic citizen?
Pedagogy of Inclusivity in a "Post-Racial" Classroom
Room 221, DiGiorgio Campus Center (DiGs)
This paper will explore dynamics of an inclusive classroom. Building on the work of bell hooks and Paulo Freire, this project seeks to highlight successful inclusion of the classroom and unsuccessful practices of pedagogy. Creating an inclusive classroom not only mirrors the importance of this practice in politics, but also highlights inequity within political action by studying the classroom as a microchasm of the political process. It is through the understanding and evaluation of the practice of pedagogy that allows for a larger application to the political process. Does the practice of knowledge require inclusion not just in the bodies represented, but in the texts studied, the people educating students, and the acknowledgment of absent voices and stories?
In Teaching to Transgress, hooks addresses points out most students resist the critical thinking process (10). This practice of resistance is often embraced and reproduced through pedagogy in the classroom. Because of this, hooks notes this also leads to students believe that they do not have to work to maintain democracy (14). If the thoughtful, engaged citizen is not developed through the process of critical pedagogy, is the academy fulfilling its role? According to Friere, the development of a praxis of critical pedagogy would rely on those who have historically been marginalized and excluded. Do these students exist in the classroom? How do we incorporate these voices? What is the role of the Professor in developing not only a praxis of inclusion, but also a democratic citizen?
