Interrogating Ourselves in a Racialized World

Abstract

In this article we suggest strategies for teachers who do not teach race and ethnicity courses on how to create learning opportunities for students to analyze their social environments and interrogate how their beliefs, feelings, and actions concerning race and racism are shaped by their social worlds. We propose a pedagogical approach that examines and welcomes students’ personal experiences in the classroom as one of the most powerful tools for promoting deep learning about race relations and the damaging subtleties of racism. We argue that having students analyze the social origins of their thoughts by personalizing their assignments helps students identify the source of internalized colorblind ideologies. We contend that only when students are pushed to acknowledge the social sources of their “individual” perspectives will they be equipped to examine society through racialized lenses.