Open AccessTowards Abolition: Undoing the Colonized Curriculum
Author(s) -
Angela Maria Leslie,
Vajra M. Watson,
Rose Borunda,
Kate E. M. Bosworth,
Tatianna J. Grant
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
journal of curriculum studies research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2690-2788
DOI - 10.46303/jcsr.2021.5
Subject(s) - injustice , undoing , racism , curriculum , criminology , white (mutation) , economic justice , sociology , prison , humanism , punishment (psychology) , political science , pedagogy , psychology , social psychology , gender studies , law , biochemistry , chemistry , psychotherapist , gene
Racial injustice has traditionally been observed from the viewpoint of its impact and outcomes. Subsequently, educators and policy makers have generally focused on outcomes; unequal oppor-tunity structures, disparities in educational achievement, the school-to-prison pipeline, dispropor-tional health indicators, incarceration rates, and harsher punishment in school and judicial sys-tems, are just a few of the contexts by which this nation’s racialized roots can be measured for present day mistreatment and disparate outcomes for minoritized populations. As policy makers and educators look to the impact of racial injustice, a true ontological vantage would reveal the cause as well as the perpetuation of these outcomes. As the current COVID-19 pandemic contin-ues, and with increased interest in online learning, it is vital that teachers and professors seek new pedagogy and tools to teach about racism. Our study examined whether a virtual 1-hour presen-tation on white humanists influences students’ understanding of racial justice. Our research demonstrates that a colonized curriculum impacts student’s outlook on the world and themselves. Inversely, when we expose students to humanists throughout history, we are able to show that white people have a legacy and responsibility to fight for racial justice. This provides students with alternative models – beyond those that perpetuate white supremacy.