Pedagogy, Performance, and Positionality: Teaching about Whiteness in Interracial Communication

Abstract

This article examines the relationships among bodies, identities, and performances of whiteness in an Interracial Communication course. The article uses the concepts of positionality and performativity to discuss the shifting articulations of White identities in relation to whiteness as a pedagogical concept. In doing so, the study focuses on the class' narrative, positionality with regard to the narrative (including resistance), and positionality regarding the teacher of the course. The study draws from theoretical work on whiteness, critical pedagogy, pedagogy of discomfort, and the pedagogy of performance. Davies and Harre's (1990) discussion of positionality with regard to narrative and identity provides the framework for the analysis of student narratives and focus group conversations.