ERIC Number: EJ952509
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2012
Pages: 20
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1361-3324
EISSN: N/A
What's the Point? Anti-Racism and Students' Voices against Islamophobia
Housee, Shirin
Race, Ethnicity and Education, v15 n1 p101-120 2012
In a climate of Islamophobic racism, where media racism saturates our TV screens and newspapers, where racism on the streets, on campus, in our community become everyday realities, I ask, what can we--teachers, lecturers and educationalists--do in the work of anti-racism in education? This article examines classroom debates on Islamophobia by exploring the connections between student experiences and the wider social political issues and ideologies that create and re-enforce racism. The underlying interest for me is to examine the ways in which classroom interaction; dialogue and exchanges can undo racist thinking by informed anti-racist critique. This article has three sections; first, I discuss the multicultural and anti-racist discourses within education in the British context. I then go on to explore theoretical developments found in Critical Race Theory (CRT) as a tool for this anti-racism in education. In the second section I examine Islamophobia, the hatred of Muslims, as a measurement of current racism. My interest is to explore the meanings of Islamophobia, and its relevance to students lived realities. Media representation and text on Islamophobia are used as a way of pulling out the student views and lived experiences of such racism. In the final section I raise the question of "what's the point of studying racism?" Here I discuss a class seminar on the viewing of a YouTube role play of a racist incident against a hijaab wearing woman. The "point here" is to unpack student's views and reactions to Islamophobia. I conclude that classroom discussions can be a place where anti-racist, anti-sexist and anti-oppressive views emerge to inform the discussion for social justice in education.
Descriptors: Social Justice, Muslims, Student Attitudes, Ideology, Interaction, Social Bias, Islam, Islamic Culture, Teacher Role, Consciousness Raising, Student Experience, Political Issues, Classroom Environment, Interpersonal Relationship, Foreign Countries, Racial Bias, Social Theories, Mass Media Effects, Seminars, Educational History, Teaching Methods
Routledge. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: United Kingdom
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A