The Antiracist Curriculum Working Group (ARCWG) was formed in the German Department at Penn State in June 2020. Our goal is to decenter our basic German language sequence by integrating antiracist pedagogy with the department’s existing communicative approach to foreign language teaching in our classrooms.
Following Blakeney (2005)[1], we define antiracist pedagogy as that which targets the revelation of societal structures that have systematically contributed to the oppression of members of society–based on their identity markers, such as race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, socioeconomic class, language variety/dialect, immigration status, and/or educational level. Furthermore, it aims to counteract oppression through praxis, promoting social justice and nurturing social justice-focused mindsets in students and instructors.
[1] Blakeney, A. M. (2005). Antiracist pedagogy: Definition, theory, and professional development. Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy, 2(1), 119-132. DOI
Publications:
- Piotti, A., Matangos, H., Chin, A., Goetze, J., Keppenne, V., & Kerschen, K. (submitted January 2022). (Co)constructing antiracist pedagogy: Expanding on standing departmental approaches to foreign language teaching.
Conference Presentations:
- Piotti, A., Matangos, H., Chin, A. (2021). (Co)constructing Antiracist Pedagogy: An open dialogue reflecting on standing departmental approaches within institutional systems. Symposium on Language Pedagogy in Higher Education (SOLPHE), [Virtual Format], 1-2 October.
Collaborators: Julia Goetze (Penn State), Anna Piotti (Penn State), Hannah Matangos (Penn State), Valerie Keppenne (Penn State), Alexis Chin (Penn State)