Perhaps you could point out the distinction between a "racial text" - one that deals with racial issues, versus a "racist text" - one that endorses racist ideology. A "racial text" is open to many interpretive inquiries, such as subversively challenging racism, but a "racist text" seems to end the discussion.
-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Twain Forum [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Hal Bush
Sent: Wednesday, February 20, 2013 12:34 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: MLA 2014 cfp: Roundtable on Teaching Racist Texts
Folks: here is a brand new CFP from C19, titled "Teaching Racist Texts"...
and guess what is this critic's star attraction?
I'm troubled by the concept of a "racist text" being displayed so cavalierly (especially now 40 years give or take after Derrida, Bakhtin et
al) and wondered if others on here would be too. there are certainly racist tendencies in the text, but it's not exactly The Leopard's Spots or anything, right??
Further, it would seem that the author of a "racist text" is also a racist.
Much of this has been debated in Twain studies ad nauseum, I know; I'm just thinking of how to (politely?) respond, and show my displeasure at what I consider an unjust characterization of HF as a "racist text."
comments? -hb
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Brigitte Fielder <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Wed, Feb 20, 2013 at 11:08 AM
Subject: MLA 2014 cfp: Roundtable on Teaching Racist Texts
To: [log in to unmask]
Teaching Racist Texts: A Roundtable on Pedagogy
While continuing efforts have been made to incorporate a more diverse array of writers into the American literary canon, the problem of racism still presents a pedagogical challenge. As literature courses seek to engage students in meaningful conversations about the assigned texts, they must also deal with the problem of those texts=92 content. Some literature contains material which is offensive =96 racial epithets, derogatory depictions of non-white people, assumptions of white supremacy. The 2011 New South Books publication of Mark Twain=92s Adventures of Huckleberry Fin= n sparked popular controversy by replacing the text=92s 219 uses of the
=93n-word=94 with the word =93slave.=94 While this change makes the text m= ore palatable for some to read aloud, it does not evacuate all that is problematic about the texts=92 presentation of race and racism. Rather than evacuating, dismissing, or ignoring racist content, engaging students in frank conversations about the racism inherent in much of American literature will help them to address the difficult =96 sometimes offensive = or hurtful =96 content of the literatures we read, discuss, and write about.
The pedagogy of dealing with the racist content of American literature will be the subject of this roundtable. Participants will share their insights into common problems encountered when teaching racist texts, and strategies for teaching students how to talk and write about this racism.
Moreover, the pedagogical practice of attending to racism can help students to better understand the literature at the center of our classroom discussions.
Roundtable discussion topics may include:
Student reluctance to talking about race Preconceptions about race and racism Historical contexts / racism in the present Dealing with dialect Redeeming texts / absolving authors Racist language =96 to repeat or not to repeat?
Being mindful of students=92 racialized persons The embodied professor =96 who gets to talk about race?
How to write about racism without sounding like a racist
100-word abstracts by 15 March to Brigitte Fielder ( [log in to unmask]).
--=20
Brigitte Nicole Fielder, PhD
Associate Lecturer in English
University of Wisconsin, Madison
Helen C. White Hall
600 North Park Street
Madison, WI 53706
--=20
Prof. Harold K. Bush
Professor of English
3800 Lindell
Saint Louis University
St. Louis, MO 63108
314-977-3616 (w); 314-771-6795 (h)
<www.slu.edu/x23809.xml>
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