Very enjoyable interview! I also have noticed the “Kafkatrap” embedded in the White Fragility claim, and its similarity to Freud’s theory of repression.
One thing that seems to have been assumed by the both of you: The purpose of critiquing MacIntosh is to improve the percentage of students to buy into an Antiracist framework. Is that accurate? If so, I’m curious why that’s considered acceptable within an academic framework. Also, if true, it verifies the accusation that Teacher’s Colleges are engaged in indoctrination.
Speaking just for me, the purpose of critiquing McIntosh is that I'd like to see fewer people buying into her specific understanding of what it means to be anti-racist, both because I want fewer people to buy her perspective and I want fewer people to become so alienated by it that they wholly reject the goal of working to reduce the ills caused by racism.
In the sense that students are people, I'd include them in that, though I certainly don't support indoctrination of them into an anti-racist worldview. I think the issue of when teaching becomes indoctrination is tricky. I don't think we think of faculty as indoctrinating students simply because some of their core values are evident in how and what they teach. I took a class in college from a pretty devout Christian who not only didn't hide his faith from us, but in very clear ways infused it into his teaching. What he didn't do was make us feel like we were supposed to believe what he believed, or that we'd be graded better if we emulated him in that way. I didn't feel indoctrinated. I felt like I was learning by watching a passsionate mind engaging with deep issues.
Very enjoyable interview! I also have noticed the “Kafkatrap” embedded in the White Fragility claim, and its similarity to Freud’s theory of repression.
One thing that seems to have been assumed by the both of you: The purpose of critiquing MacIntosh is to improve the percentage of students to buy into an Antiracist framework. Is that accurate? If so, I’m curious why that’s considered acceptable within an academic framework. Also, if true, it verifies the accusation that Teacher’s Colleges are engaged in indoctrination.
A few thoughts:
Speaking just for me, the purpose of critiquing McIntosh is that I'd like to see fewer people buying into her specific understanding of what it means to be anti-racist, both because I want fewer people to buy her perspective and I want fewer people to become so alienated by it that they wholly reject the goal of working to reduce the ills caused by racism.
In the sense that students are people, I'd include them in that, though I certainly don't support indoctrination of them into an anti-racist worldview. I think the issue of when teaching becomes indoctrination is tricky. I don't think we think of faculty as indoctrinating students simply because some of their core values are evident in how and what they teach. I took a class in college from a pretty devout Christian who not only didn't hide his faith from us, but in very clear ways infused it into his teaching. What he didn't do was make us feel like we were supposed to believe what he believed, or that we'd be graded better if we emulated him in that way. I didn't feel indoctrinated. I felt like I was learning by watching a passsionate mind engaging with deep issues.
Will ponder and respond at a later time. :)