Counter-Narratives in Language Education Research: Toward a Raciolinguistic Genealogical Perspective on Language Education Policy

Panel on Counter-Narratives in Language Education Research

Toward a Raciolinguistic Genealogical Perspective on Language Education Policy

 Dr Nelson Flores  (University of Pennsylvania)

 

Abstract: This presentation proposes raciolinguistic genealogy as a methodological approach to the study of language education. It briefly defines three components of this approach: 1) a genealogical stance that brings attention to the discursive construction of race within the context of European colonialism; 2) a materialist framing of white supremacy that focuses on the material inequities made possible by multiple generations of racial oppression; and 3) a raciolinguistic perspective that examines the role of language ideologies in the production of race and the justification of these material disparities. It offers the case of bilingual education in the United States as an illustration of the affordances of raciolinguistic genealogy in researching language education policy.

 Nelson Flores is an associate professor in educational linguistics at the University of Pennsylvania. His research examines the intersection of language, race, and the political economy in shaping U.S. educational policies and practices. He has been the recipient of many academic awards including the 2017 AERA Bilingual Education SIG Early Career Award, a 2017 Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship, and the 2019 James Alatis Prize for Research on Language Planning and Policy in Educational Contexts.

 

The role of narratives in the design of an online language course: reflections on capabilities, identity and representation

Giovanna Fassetta  (University of Glasgow)

This presentation will illustrate - and critically engages with - the main lessons learnt during two collaborative projects involving the School of Education (University of Glasgow, UK) and the Arabic Center of the Islamic University of Gaza (Palestine). The two projects resulted in the collaborative design and development of an Online Arabic language course for beginners, which aimed to provide opportunities for remote work for language teachers in the Gaza Strip.

As well as prospects for online employment, this international online collaboration meant that Palestinian course developers and teachers were able to weave into the language course their view of the Gaza Strip, to challenge representations of their identity and to symbolically resist the 12-year blockade that has crippled the Strip’s economy, and which keeps its population in a situation of forced immobility. This was done primarily via the narrative of the short videos that introduce each of the course’s lessons, which represent both the ordinariness and exceptionality of living under siege.

Giovanna Fassetta is Senior Lecturer in Social Inclusion in the School of Education, University of Glasgow. Giovanna has a background in language teaching and prior to starting work in Higher Education she taught Italian to children, young people and adults. Her research focuses on issues of migration and education and, more recently, on the role of arts and culture in peacebuilding.

 

These talks will be followed by a response from three discussants representing different aspects of the larger theme and discussion with the general academic audience.  Discussants: Daniel Fobi, Kate Spowage and Rumana Hossain.

For further information, including registration and attendance, please see the CLER website.