Colormute

Race Talk Dilemmas in an American School

Nonfiction, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, Minority Studies, Reference & Language, Education & Teaching, Educational Theory, Educational Reform
Cover of the book Colormute by Mica Pollock, Princeton University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Mica Pollock ISBN: 9781400826124
Publisher: Princeton University Press Publication: April 11, 2009
Imprint: Princeton University Press Language: English
Author: Mica Pollock
ISBN: 9781400826124
Publisher: Princeton University Press
Publication: April 11, 2009
Imprint: Princeton University Press
Language: English

This book considers in unprecedented detail one of the most confounding questions in American racial practice: when to speak about people in racial terms. Viewing "race talk" through the lens of a California high school and district, Colormute draws on three years of ethnographic research on everyday race labeling in education. Based on the author's experiences as a teacher as well as an anthropologist, it discusses the role race plays in everyday and policy talk about such familiar topics as discipline, achievement, curriculum reform, and educational inequality.

Pollock illustrates the wide variations in the way speakers use race labels. Sometimes people use them without thinking twice; at other moments they avoid them at all costs or use them only in the description of particular situations. While a major concern of everyday race talk in schools is that racial descriptions will be inaccurate or inappropriate, Pollock demonstrates that anxiously suppressing race words (being what she terms "colormute") can also cause educators to reproduce the very racial inequities they abhor.

The book assists readers in cultivating a greater understanding of the pitfalls and possibilities of everyday race talk and clarifies previously murky discussions of "colorblindness." By bridging the gap between theory and practice, Colormute will be enormously helpful in fostering ongoing conversations about dismantling racial inequality in America.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This book considers in unprecedented detail one of the most confounding questions in American racial practice: when to speak about people in racial terms. Viewing "race talk" through the lens of a California high school and district, Colormute draws on three years of ethnographic research on everyday race labeling in education. Based on the author's experiences as a teacher as well as an anthropologist, it discusses the role race plays in everyday and policy talk about such familiar topics as discipline, achievement, curriculum reform, and educational inequality.

Pollock illustrates the wide variations in the way speakers use race labels. Sometimes people use them without thinking twice; at other moments they avoid them at all costs or use them only in the description of particular situations. While a major concern of everyday race talk in schools is that racial descriptions will be inaccurate or inappropriate, Pollock demonstrates that anxiously suppressing race words (being what she terms "colormute") can also cause educators to reproduce the very racial inequities they abhor.

The book assists readers in cultivating a greater understanding of the pitfalls and possibilities of everyday race talk and clarifies previously murky discussions of "colorblindness." By bridging the gap between theory and practice, Colormute will be enormously helpful in fostering ongoing conversations about dismantling racial inequality in America.

More books from Princeton University Press

Cover of the book Corrupted into Song by Mica Pollock
Cover of the book The Alzheimer Conundrum by Mica Pollock
Cover of the book Identity Economics by Mica Pollock
Cover of the book Information Science by Mica Pollock
Cover of the book Athenian Economy and Society by Mica Pollock
Cover of the book The Crest of the Peacock by Mica Pollock
Cover of the book Fourier Restriction for Hypersurfaces in Three Dimensions and Newton Polyhedra (AM-194) by Mica Pollock
Cover of the book Liberty and Coercion by Mica Pollock
Cover of the book Analytical Psychology in Exile by Mica Pollock
Cover of the book Silent Sparks by Mica Pollock
Cover of the book The Monotheists: Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Conflict and Competition, Volume II by Mica Pollock
Cover of the book On Mercy by Mica Pollock
Cover of the book The Future of Fossil Fuels by Mica Pollock
Cover of the book The Real Planet of the Apes by Mica Pollock
Cover of the book Unceasing Strife, Unending Fear by Mica Pollock
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy