Re-Centering Race in the Classroom
Dominant Ideologies in Educational Spaces and Their Implications for Youth Identity Formation
In: New Framings on Anti-Racism and ResistanceSearch for other papers by Raagini Appadurai in
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Appadurai reviews how the colonial imposition of hegemonic ideologies within educational spaces and the dominant historical-social constructions of race they embody, can work to perpetuate the continued alienation of Blackness and/or colour. This estrangement comes to accord particular governance on the everyday lives of young racialized bodies, by which the processes of meaning-making and identity formation of non-White students is constituted through an epistemic violence. Appadurai posits that this leads to an absent presence of race in classrooms and other educational spaces, resulting in the silencing and disengagement of marginalized and racialized youth in these settings, working to further perpetuate systems of oppression and racism that exclude them. Arguing that race is a social construction, this chapter calls for an anti-racist/anti-colonial reading so as to center race and give voice to the lived experiences of young racialized and marginalized bodies. An anti-racist/anti-colonial reading would situate their voices centrally in discussions around inclusion and belonging in the classroom and other educational spaces.