Thursday, June 9, 2016
Code Switch Podcast
Given our discussions in class the last few days, you might be interested in this podcast. It takes as its subject how we talk about white privilege. Interestingly, when the participants talk about teaching, they begin (and end) at the college level, perhaps providing even more evidence about how hard these conversations can be.
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The discussion of whiteness and white identity is crucial to understanding race and privilege in today's society--this podcast raised the question for me, as potential teacher, how do you address race as a teacher? I like Catherine Orr's statement that as she teaches women's studies, she is Exhibit A. "My Body is exhibit A" How does your own perceived race and gender give power or push-back in the classroom when you discuss these issues? Can a "white male", for example, effectively teach a group of white students about what it means to be black in today's society? How would a "black male" feel in such a classroom? Chenjerai Kumanyika tends to steer away from his personal narrative in class discussion. His strategys is to give students the tools and materials to create their own discussions about race and identity, specifically whiteness--which isn't necessarily a "race" but more a "racism" a defining of a class of people and the power it may, or may not have in society. Chenjerai brought up how when he was trying to deconstruct race and white identity he felt resistance from his students as if they were trying to hold onto the myth of race as a genealogical construct. I found this a bit interesting, too--this is a generalization, but..."white" people have been identifying as "white" with assumed and perhaps unconscious power for so long they struggle to separate the two? They have a hard time viewing "white" race as a social construct rather than a scientific and genetic construct? Anyway, enjoyed the podcast, Thank You!
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