Dear Colleagues,
I’m happy to announce that the fall Teaching Democracy workshop will take place Friday, November 7 at 12 PM EST, featuring a presentation by Dr. Robert Asen, Professor of Rhetoric, Politics, and Culture at UW Madison:
"Negotiating Relationships of Education and Democracy: How State Legislators Seek to Confront Woke in the Classroom by Restricting Pedagogy and Curtailing Discussion."
You can register for this free online event here.
About:
In this workshop, Asen will discuss a chapter from a book project in which he analyzes a day-long Wisconsin legislative hearing over a bill to prevent classroom instruction on so-called "divisive concepts" like critical race theory, which proponents cast as an effort to prevent stereotyping and discrimination. Asen examines connections between such efforts by Wisconsin legislators (as well as legislators in other states)and those of the Trump administration in fall 2020. Analyzing the discourse of the hearing, he considers how bill proponents portray themselves as defenders of open inquiry and free expression while demonizing critical race theory as an authoritarian project that attempts to brainwash children. Asen considers how this hearing reveals fundamental tensions and broader lessons on competing understandings of the nature of racism, the value of difference, the messiness and complexities of US history, and the role of education in fostering democratic public engagement.
Asen’s presentation will be followed by a Q&A and then a breakout session for participants to consider and discuss connections with their own teaching.
Please reach out with any questions you have.
All best,
Sarah Moon
Visiting Assistant Professor
Department of Writing Studies, Rhetoric and Composition
Roger Williams University
Bristol, RI 02809