Accounting for whiteness through collaborative fiction

ABSTRACT

This arts-based, qualitative teacher-researcher study considers how a group of mostly white high school students worked with their white facilitators to consider whiteness using Youth Participatory Action Research in conjunction with playbuilding and drama pedagogy. First, the author locates his reflexive stance. Then, relying on critical race theory and critical whiteness theory, the author uses narrative inquiry to share an ethnographic vignette that considers how students located, defined, and articulated their understanding of whiteness.

KEYWORDS:

• Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR)
• playbuilding
• drama pedagogy
• critical race theory
• critical whiteness theory

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes on contributor

Samuel Jaye Tanner is an assistant professor of Literacy Education at The Pennsylvania State University in Altoona. He taught high school English and Drama for twelve years in the Twin Cities before finishing his Ph.D. in Critical Literacy and English Education at The University of Minnesota. Sam's research and teaching interests include critical whiteness studies, arts-based pedagogy and research, and democratic education.

Notes

1. The name of this high school has been disguised.

2. The name of this second high school has also been disguised. This school was the site of the study described below. PAHS had a predominately white student population during this project with roughly 65% of students identifying as white. Participants in the theatre programme almost exclusively identified as white.

3. Critical whiteness studies relies on critical race theory. Scholarship such as (Bell 2008; Bonilla-Silva 2013; Ladson-Billings and Tate 1995; Ladson-Billings 1998) provide helpful articulations of critical race theory. Scholarship such as (Harris 1995; Leonardo 2004; Mills 1997; Roediger 2007; Sleeter 2008) locates whiteness in this tradition.

4. Carspecken (1996) provided a clear description of critical ethnography. Chadderton (2012) located this in terms of white researchers using critical ethnography to research race.

5. Erickson's (1986) description of interpretive research continues to be one of the most exhaustive. Lensmire's (1994) research on writing workshop was a model of interpretive practices during my own research.

6. Natalie was my former student who volunteered to help with this project. She was white, 21, and working on her Elementary Education degree during the time of this research. She kept her own ethnographic field notes, assisted in collecting and interpreting data, and helped lead teaching sessions during the year. Her name is not disguised per her request.

7. Local conservative radio host Tom Barnard criticised the project by reading a newspaper article about it on a morning radio programme. Also, a national blog associated with national conservative pundit Glenn Beck linked to a documentary that my colleague at PAHS created to critique the project as well. See: http://bit.ly/1RsRph5.

8. Victoria was in 11th grade during this project. She was invested in all phases of this project. Victoria was a top student in her grade and was involved in the drama programme, the music programme, and cheerleading during her four years at PAHS.

9. Mark was in 11th grade during this project. He was white and extremely invested in this project. Mark was a top student in his grade. He was involved in the theatre and music programmes at PAHS during all four years.

10. Megan was Mark's close friend. Like him, she was in 11th grade, white, and was a top student involved in many extracurricular activities at the school.

11. The full text of the play can be found here: http://bit.ly/1EypY0e. See Tanner (2014) for a more complete analysis of the students’ play.

12. Lauren was a white 11th grader during this project. Like Megan, Mark, and Victoria, Laruen was involved in all three phases of the project, was deeply engaged with the drama programme and the music programme during her four years at PAHS.