Scripted ways of talking about race : moving beyond race essentialism towards reconciliation
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(Published version)
Date
2005
Authors
Augusta-Scott, Chris
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thesis
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Abstract
This thesis is about dominant and emerging patterns in race talk in North America. In the thesis I examine three scripts that comprise the current dominant race essentialist discourse, the traps associated with their use, and the emergence of a fourth script that moves beyond an essentialist framework.
As the principal of an inner city school that served a Black and White student body, I dealt with racialized conflict within the school and the larger community on a daily basis. Observing these pervasive difficulties with all matters pertaining to race, I initially decided that a study on White privilege might be the most appropriate and legitimate area of research that I could follow as a way of contributing to improving race relations in some way. To study this topic I decided to interview a small sample of both Black and White women about their experiences of race relations. The interviews were examined applying discourse analysis informed by Phillips and Ravasi (1998) and Phillips and Hardy (2002) so that I could better understand the constructive effect of language in regard to how these women viewed racilized experiences. Using this approach and Friedman's (1995) theoretical perspective-that the dominant race essentialist discourse is comprised of three basic scripts: denial, accusation, and confession-I was then able to explore with more clarity Friedman's notion of relational positionality and the possibilities this script offers for an expanded view on race relations.
School/Discipline
School of Education
Dissertation Note
Thesis (PhDEducation)--University of South Australia, 2005.
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Copyright 2005 the author. This item has been reproduced by the University of South Australia here in good faith. Attempts to contact original copyright owner(s) are ongoing. We would be pleased to hear from copyright owner(s).
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x, 245 leaves
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