Date: Fri, 23 Jul 1999 21:58:33 -0500 (Central Daylight Time)
From: Andrew_Spencer <Andrew_Spencer-AT-baylor.edu>
Subject: Fwd: CFP: Teaching Whiteness (9/15; NEMLA, 4/7-4/8)


I thought this was too perfect to pass up, given my initial question a few days ago, a question which I will elaborate on in a future (give me five minutes) email.

Andrew

-------- Forwarded Message --------
CALL FOR PAPERS:  What’s White Got to Do with It?:  Teaching
Whiteness; Roundtable Discussion at the Northeast Modern
Language Association, Buffalo, NY, April 7-8, 2000

Numerous historical and sociological studies have been
published in the 1990s about the ways in which whiteness has
been constructed and empowered as an unraced “norm” in US
society.  More recently, a handful of literary studies have
entered the arena, illustrating how whiteness has been
constructed in and through literature.  While critics have
begun to recognize that to “ignore white ethnicity,” as Coco
Fusco has stated, “is to redouble its hegemony by
naturalizing it,” this recognition has not traveled far—if
at all—outside the walls of the academy.  An awareness of
whiteness as a constructed ethnic identity is just now
making its way into university and college classrooms.  This
roundtable discussion will explore the experiences of
teachers who have sought to teach whiteness in their
classrooms.  Proposals may focus, for example, on the
context in which whiteness was introduced, the texts and
techniques used to teach whiteness, the overall success
and/or failure of the endeavor, and suggestions for teaching
whiteness.

Many (if not most) whites still basically ignore white
ethnicity and are not, in fact, even aware that they are
doing so:  whiteness is simply something one is; it is not
analyzed, it is not felt, it is not a concern.  In other
words, it is not just ignored, it is unrecognized
altogether—except, perhaps, when a white person is alone
among non-whites.  Are you only white, as one critic has
questioned, when someone else isn’t?  While “minorities” may
be able to see (as a song from West Side Story goes) that
“Things are all right in America” only “When you’re all
white in America”—whites have a difficult time seeing or
acknowledging the privileges afforded by white skin color in
the US.  Teaching whiteness is an attempt to help students
recognize this—to see whiteness not as the norm, but as a
constructed entity, and to examine the ways in which this
recognition affects and shifts binary-based discussions of
race and ethnicity in general and our understanding of
identity formation in particular.

This roundtable discussion on teaching whiteness will
address these and other issues as participants share
classroom experiences and provide tools and techniques for
effectively teaching students how to see and read
whiteness.  While there is a great deal of criticism on
“cross-ethnic” teaching (particularly white teacher/black
literature), there are virtually no resources for those
seeking guidance and advice on teaching whiteness in the
classroom.  This roundtable discussion, which will bring
together a variety of pedagogical experiences and techniques
for teaching whiteness, is aimed at beginning to fill this
resource need.

Up to six participants may be accepted for participation on
the roundtable discussion.  Each participant will give a
brief (probably no longer than 10-minute) presentation; the
remainder of the time will be devoted to discussion of
questions and issues raised by presentations. This
roundtable discussion is currently scheduled to be
transcribed for submission for publication as part of a
special issue on whiteness in a leading journal.

Brief proposals--1-2 pages outlining your experiences
teaching whiteness and noting the issues you would like to
speak to--are due to the session chair by September 15
(please include any audio-visual requests at this time).
Including your CV would also be helpful.  Note that although
NEMLA rules prevent participants from presenting more than
one paper in a paper session, you are allowed to participate
in a roundtable discussion (or creative session) in addition
to presenting in a paper session.

Chair:  Patty Keefe Durso, 21 Hillside Ave, Mahwah, NJ
07430; phone:  201/512-1644 (h) or 201/512-1646 (w); Fax:
201/512-9410; Email:  pkd-AT-nac.net.  Proposals may be
submitted via regular mail, email, or fax.

You need not be a member of NEMLA to respond to the call,
but if your paper is accepted, you need to be a member by
November 1 to be included in the convention program.  For a
membership form or more information about NEMLA, go to their
website at http://www.anna-maria.edu/nemla/

--
Patty Keefe Durso, Ph.D.
201.512-1644 (ph)
201.512-9410 (fax)

         ==============================================         From the Literary Calls for Papers Mailing List
                      CFP-AT-english.upenn.edu
                       Full Information at
                http://www.english.upenn.edu/CFP/
          or write Erika Lin: elin-AT-english.upenn.edu
         ==============================================