Power, Knowledge
and Anti-Racism Education: A Critical Reader is a volume edited
by George J. Sefa Dei and Agnes Calliste. As the title suggests,
this book is indeed a critical, informative, and thought provoking
reader on power, race, gender, and education. The book includes
eight chapters plus an introduction and conclusion that address
questions of racism and schooling practices in a variety of educational
settings in Canada, a country that practices multiculturalism and
is considered to value and promote diversity. Most Canadians believe
that the country's multicultural policy was established with good
intentions and has served the country and its people well. As such,
we rarely ask ourselves questions such as: Who is benefiting from
the policy and who is not? Why and why not? What are the strengths
and limitations of the multicultural policy in empowering people
of all origins? What more can be done to ensure equality in education
and the larger society? This very well written book asks and answers
these and many other very important questions.
Specifically, Power,
Knowledge and Anti-Racism Education addresses critical issues
such as multiculturalism, racism, equality, exclusion, and gender
issues from theoretical as well as practical perspectives. It calls
for a critical examination of and going beyond multiculturalism
by challenging the status quo with critical anti-racist education.
In Chapter 1, Dei contextualizes the book through his discussion
of a critical anti-racist discursive theoretical framework that
"deals foremost with equity: the qualitative value of justice"
(p. 17). He is critical of multiculturalism arguing that it creates
a public discourse of a colour-blind society and he calls for an
acknowledgement of and confrontation with differences. According
to Dei, confronting the dynamics and relational aspects of race,
class, ethnic, and gender differences is essential to power sharing
in colour-coded Euro-Canadian contexts.
In Chapter 2, Bedard
continues the discussion of multiculturalism and anti-racist education
through a deconstruction of Whiteness in relation to historical
colonialism, imperialism, and capitalism. He reminds readers of
the complexity of the race issue as we still live with the legacy
of colonialism. He asserts that through their ideological and intellectual
ruling of Canada, as well as many other parts of the world (e.g.,
Africa and Asia), white people enjoy more privileges that are not
afforded to people from other racial backgrounds. In Chapter 3,
Ibrahim revisits tensions surrounding curriculum relevance and demonstrates
how popular culture, especially Black popular culture (e.g., Hip
Hop and Rap), can be utilized to carry out anti-racism education
as it relates to students identity formation, cultural and linguistics
practices, and sense of alienation from or relation to everyday
classroom practice. In Chapter 4, James and Mannette address issues
related to visible minority students' access to publicly funded
post-secondary education. Through rich personal accounts from students,
they illustrate how these students mediate systemic barriers, gain
entry, and experience post-secondary education in Canada.
In Chapter 5, Henry
presents a brief reflection of black teachers' positionality in
Canadian universities and schools through three vignettes: her personal
experience, two teacher candidates' experiences, and a veteran teacher's
experience. Through these vignettes, Henry makes a case that black
women in Canadian universities and schools were isolated and "bore
the responsibility of raising the awareness and consciousness of
the White people in their work environment" (p. 97). She calls
on all of us to "reflect on every day acts of power and subordination
and to use them to develop theories and workable strategies to end
inequality" (p. 97). In Chapter 6, Tastsoglou discusses various
types of borders and the challenges and rewards of cultural, political,
and pedagogical border crossing. As a transnational person who "crosses
various borders" daily, I found the discussion to be particularly
interesting. Among others, I like the points Tastsoglou makes about
otherness (i.e., how all of us can be othered sometime or another)
and the detailed illustration of "border pedagogy" (Giroux,
1991) that can enable us to engage in socially and historically
constructed multiple cultural experiences.
In Chapter 7, Wright
addresses issues of exclusion and engages in an anti-racist critique
of progressive academic discourse in general rather than Canadian
multiculturalism per se, using post-modernist, post-structuralist,
post-colonialist, feminist, and Afrocentricist discourses. What
I found particularly informative in this chapter is Wright's discussion
of what Afrocentricism and feminism are and how they can contribute
to our understanding of inclusion and exclusion. In Chapter 8, Calliste
presents and discusses some research studies on racism in Canadian
universities. This chapter shows racism does exist in Canadian universities
overtly as well as through hidden curriculum. As such, it supports
Dei's argument that Canada is a colour-coded society where racism
and inequality exist and need to be addressed.
In summary, Power,
Knowledge and Anti-Racism Education: A Critical Reader is a
book that challenges us to be critical of the multiculturalism that
has become part of Canadian social and public discourse. It reminds
us that multiculturalism works with the notion of a basic humanness.
As such, it downplays inequalities and differences by accentuating
shared commonalities among peoples of various backgrounds. It advocates
empathy for minorities on the basis of a common humanity, envisions
a future assured by goodwill, tolerance, and understanding among
all, but it also breeds complacency, creating the illusion that
we live in a raceless, classless, and genderless society. For example,
Dei points out that, while a raceless, classless, and genderless
society is an ideal that we all aspire to and work towards, we must
remember that, at present, such a society is a luxury that is only
possible for people from a certain racial background, namely white
people. He, therefore, urges us to acknowledge that while multiculturalism
is an important first step in building an ideal nation, it is anti-racist
education that seeks to challenge the status quo and aspires to
excellence. According to Dei and Calliste, "anti-racism education
practice must lead to an understanding that excellence is equity
and equity is excellence" (p.164). I would recommend this book
as a required text for undergraduate and graduate level sociology
and educational foundations related courses.
References
Giroux, H. (1991). Post-modernism
as border pedagogy: Redefining the boundaries of
race and ethnicity. In H. Giroux (Ed.). Postmodernism, feminism,
and cultural
politics: Redrawing educational boundaries (pp. 217-56). Albany:
State University of New York Press.