240094 SE VM4 / VM8 - Anti-oppressive Education, Power, and Racism (2019S)

Which role does power play in educational contexts? How does it impact individual and collective learning processes? And what should we – students, trainers, facilitators – consider, challenge, or shape it?
In the following course, we will deal with power on different levels in the context of education and focus especially on the dimension of racism. We will develop a theoretical understanding of racism, prejudice, and power in the context of what could be termed ‘social justice education’. Building on background knowledge on the structural implications of racism in education, we will deal with different approaches to anti-racist and anti-oppressive pedagogy in theory and practice. Part of our engagement will be the challenge to develop a profound, nuanced understanding of our own involvement in oppression and racism. Students will enhance the complexity of their own conceptualizations of racism and power in order to lay ground for a journey of reflective educational practice, working against racism and other systems of oppression.
Students will be expected to engage actively in the course, both by preparing readings in advance and by participating in discussions, exercises, and reflections. In addition to short written contributions, a final paper should be written about the individual topic of choice, developed in the course of the semester.