Critical political consciousness within nepantla as transformative: The experiences and pedagogy of a Palestinian world history teacher

Abstract

This case study of a Palestinian American social studies teacher in a predominantly affluent public school in New York City utilizes the Chicana/Latina feminist theoretical concept of nepantla and the literature on teachers of Color in social studies education. This article addresses how her critical political consciousness, identities, and experiences as a teacher of Color influenced the ways she navigated through the Orientalist and Eurocentric social studies curriculum in the United States. Findings show three tensions in her life contributed to the development of her political consciousness and further influenced her teaching through pedagogies of nepantla. This study provides a perspective on how teachers with politicized identities navigate through systems of oppression, including geopolitical realities and school curriculum and infrastructure, by teaching world history from critical perspectives and centering people and civilizations of Color.

Keywords:

• Social studies
• critical race studies
• educational practices
• teacher development

Acknowledgements

The author thanks Dr. Thea Abu El-Haj for her feedback in the beginning stages of this article and Dr. Muna Saleh for her time, encouragement, and support. The author also thanks the editors of Curriculum Inquiry for their support and feedback through this process. The author is grateful for the experience as a fellow in the Curriculum Inquiry Writing Fellowship and being in community with other scholars.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

1 In May 2021, families in the East Jerusalem neighbourhoods of Sheikh Jarrah and Silwan were forcibly removed from their homes and worshippers in al-Aqsa, the third holiest site in Islam, were attacked during Ramadan, one of the holiest months for Muslims. Palestinians were attacked in Gaza with whole families murdered and buildings destroyed. All of this is documented on social media, yet platforms such as Facebook and Instagram purposefully deleted posts to silence activists from raising awareness on the brutality and calling to action (Yee & El-Naggar, 2021).

2 The US government gives Israel roughly $3.8 billion every year (Sharp, 2022).

3 Nakba, the Arabic word for catastrophe, is the name used for the start of land appropriation, expulsion of Palestinians, and the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.

4 For further reading on Palestine, see: Justice for Some: Law and the Question of Palestine by Noura Erakat (Erakat, 2019) and The Hundred Years’ War on Palestine: A History of Settler Colonialism and Resistance, 1917–2017 by Rashid Khalidi (Khalidi, 2020). There is a vast amount of scholarship documenting Palestine and Palestinians.

5 Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza were displaced in 1967 by Israeli attack and takeover—the Naksa—resulting in the occupation and control of borders.

6 Critical race theory (CRT) was developed by critical legal scholars of Color to explain how race and racism is embedded in US systems and institutions (Bell, 1995; Crenshaw, 1995; Delgado & Stefancic, 1993). Ladson-Billings and Tate (1995) connect CRT to the racial inequities in education. Social studies education is implicated because it is a natural home for discussions on race and racism (Ladson-Billings, 2003) with continuing fears of these teachings today.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Hanadi Shatara

Dr. Hanadi Shatara is an assistant professor in Social Studies Education at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. Her research interests are in social studies education, global education, teacher education, and social justice education. She has recently published in Social Studies Research and Practice and The Critical Social Educator. She was a former middle school social studies teacher and is currently Nationally Board Certified.