The Pedagogy of Teaching Race

Race remains one of the most contentious issues of our time. Its social relevance became a permanent feature of the American landscape when the founding fathers of this nation allowed chattel slavery to become synonymous with Black skin. Its significance is exemplified in the many Court decisions addressing the issue, even in recent times. These court decisions have served to whittle away at remedies that were once designed to address the reality of institutionalized racism (e.g., affirmative action). significance of race in our society remains ever more critical, even in an era of a Black presidency, as evidenced by White students at Ole Miss greeting President Obama's decisive re-election with racial slurs and protests (Hahn, 2012). Their reaction is a manifestation of the reality that the issue of race is still relevant and contentious. Our classrooms are microcosms of the greater society; therefore, issues confronted in society must also be contended with in the classroom. Given the prominence of race in society, it becomes a challenging task to teach courses that address race. In this special issue, we examine the pedagogy of teaching race. We ask, what are the unique challenges confronted by faculty of color who teach race-related courses? How might the experience of these faculty members inform our practice? Similarly, what has been the experience of White faculty who teach race-related courses? How should White faculty approach teaching such courses? Both White faculty and faculty of color experience race; however, the experience of race from the perspective of the oppressed and disenfranchised and the perspective of the oppressor and privileged influence pedagogy in a different manner. This issue is a compilation of articles that interrogates these experiences and the various dimensions associated with teaching race-based topics from the perspective of faculty of color and White faculty. In Towards a Race Pedagogy for Black Faculty, Closson, Bowman, and Merriweather assert Black adult educators are consciously or unconsciously guided by pedagogy when teaching about race. These faculty must make decisions whether to distance themselves from their own racial experiences, teaching solely prescribed curriculums and not personalizing the course topic, or take risks and teach from the perspective of their personal experiences with race in the hope of fostering transformational learning experiences for their students. authors posit that the intentional use of race pedagogy is key to being an effective educator and argue for a purposeful and engaged pedagogy that encourages openness and risk taking. Brookfield, in his article, Our Own Racism: Incorporating Personal Narratives of Whiteness Into Anti-Racist Practice, suggests White faculty must also engage in decision making, decisions that require revealing their existing racial perspectives and beliefs that aid in continuing racial oppression and in maintaining the status quo. He challenges these faculty to engage learners in a consideration of how to recognize such racist inclinations. article offers an alternative pedagogical approach for White faculty teaching race. contributing authors also offer practical strategies for the development of race pedagogy. In Learning to Teach About Race: Racialized Experience of a South Asian American Feminist Educator, Gnanadass, a South Asian American feminist, shares her intellectual and experiential journey of teaching about race and anti-racist issues in the United States. She offers a social construction of race informed by caste, religion, and culture. Her story also reveals the unique challenges faced by international non-White faculty who teach race-based courses. She concludes her discussion by offering her current approaches in teaching race, which include embodying the concept of race as a learned identity. In The Use of Social Media in Teaching Race, Nakagawa and Arzubiaga interrogate social media as a significant influence on racism and a source for understanding race. …