Dr. Ebony Thomas: Pedagogical Talk (Joint ES/JPEE and LSA/English)
7347636643
"Embracing Discomfort and Difference in the Teaching of Literature, Language, and Literacies: Notes Toward an Unfinished Project"
About the Pedagogical Talk
Teaching literature that deals with historical and contemporary race relations is important for literacy and English education, with the ultimate intent of creating ethical and literate citizens for our diverse and complex world. However, classroom conversations about race in literature mirror conversations about race in our society, which can be uncomfortable under the best circumstances. This presentation illuminates some ways instructors can guide students toward embracing difference as an unfinished project. Shifting from a dialectic of Otherness and minoritization to embracing and celebrating difference at a time when the population of school aged children and adolescents is becoming much more diverse is vital. Designed for higher education audiences, this pedagogical talk spans 15 years of college and university instructional experiences at three different institutions.
About Dr. Ebony Thomas
Ebony E. Thomas, Ph.D., studies how people of color are portrayed, or not portrayed, in children’s and young adult literature, and how those portrayals shape our culture. She regularly reviews children’s books featuring diverse heroes and heroines, teens and tweens caught between cultures, and kids from the margins for the Los Angeles Times. She has a particular interest in young adult fantasy literature and fan culture. A former English and language arts teacher, Thomas also explores how teachers handle traumatic historical events, such as slavery, when teaching literature.
Join the talk at https://umich.zoom.us/j/91250916859.