Essentialist and Post Structuralist Theories of Race and Ethnicity Essay

Identity Analysis Toward Productive Pedagogies An Essentialist and Post Structuralist Perspective Race and heathenishity will be used to analyse the central theme of individuality from an essentialist and view geomorphologicist perspective. Definitions of rush along and ethnicity will be presented and distinctions made surrounded by the two categories. The character Eva from the film The Freedom Writers will be used as a mediocre and present an argument that charge and ethnicity atomic number 18 loving constructs but not absent of essentialist influences.Following a self reflection of my suffer individuation the similarities between Eva and I show a congruence between essentialist perspectives of race and ethnicity to the hold upence of ethnic tensions and prejudice. In the context of Post structural theory it will be argued that it offers a more realistic and progressive appraisal of individuation as smooth-spoken and changing through neighborly contexts. Difference s between Evas and my avouch individualism serve to highlight the inequality of governing tillage over ethnic minorities.Therefore, pedagogical strategies will be examined from a post structural perspective as a means to promote inclusivity and authentic endemical perspectives within the classroom. Essentialist theories about ethnicity and race present these identity themes as stock-still and unchangeable. Weber (1978) defines race identity as common inherited and inheritable traits that actually derive from common descent (p. 368 ). The character Eva from the film The Freedom Writers identities her race as those south of the hem in, or specifically Hispanic. culturality from an essentialist perspective differs from race as Zagefka (2008) ascribes to the notion that essentialist accounts of ethnicity maintain that ethnic groups have a certain essence which determines their character (p. 1). Therefore, essentialist ethnicity elaborates on race identity informing that behavio ural traits are also biologically determined. Evas statement We fight over race, pride and respect illustrates the essentialist nature of laid, unchangeable boundaries that hold up between her group and other ethnic groups.Evas racial hatred of the other ethnic groups is evident through her gang affiliations and violent behaviour toward them. An essentialist perceptive would assume that Evas racial hatred is determined at birth but as Evas character develops throughout the film the essentialist perspective loses rigourousness and Evas sense of identity is seen to be socially constructed. Post structural theory maintains that race and ethnicity are socially constructed presenting Evas identity as fluid and evolving.However, Morning (2006) concludes that the conception of race as rooted in biological difference endures, at least in the United States today. Therefore, ethnicity offers a more authentic depth psychology of Evas identity formation from a post structuralist perspective then the residual of essentialism that exists in relation to her racial conceptualisations. In Evas shaping years her subjectivities about race were essentialised from her fathers emphasis of her origins and therefore the requisite to protect your own.The violence from other ethnic groups and the arrest of her father because of his ethnic background resulted in an intense hatred for white people. Eva hated white people on sight. Evas hatred developed over fourth dimension through social contexts involving ethnic and racial violence. Evas changing identity is equal from a post structural perceptive through narrative and social interactions in Mrs Gurwalls classroom. Marra (2005) states that biography is a powerful means of constructing different kinds of social identity, including ethnic identity. (p. 2).Using a diary as an artifact Eva is able reflect on her own subjectivities about identity to better understand her beliefs and values (J Nailer, 2005 p. 152). Through social interactions in the classroom under the focussing of her reader Evas ethnic identity is reconstructed to establish a type of class ethnicity involving students from different races. As a self reflection affect my own personal identity tidy sum be examined through essentialist and post structural perspectives centred on themes of race and identity. During my childhood years race identity was represented from an essentialist perspective.I identified as a member of the white race and was educated from a white, colonial historical perspective. Instilled from an early age was the notion that creation black meant be inferior. Not only did I perceive Indigenous people as those who sat in the park and got drunk but I engaged in racist language such as nigger and coon. My prejudice is highlighted by Brickman (2009) who suggests Indeed, for social categories based on race, increased bit of genetic theories (one component of psychological essentialism) has been linked to increased prej udice (p. 2).My parents assisted in the facilitation of my racial essentialism as did many other adults and peers of my own racial group. During my shaping years my identity based upon being a member of the white race assumed greater intelligence, privilege and more appropriate behaviour than Indigenous peoples. The distinction between race and ethnicity is evident when according to Chandra (2006), an ethnic group is a named human population with myths of common ancestry, shared historical memories, one or more elements of a common culture, a link with a homeland and sense of solidarity (p.403).This statement relates to when I left my small town and attended an stiff private college whilst undertaking university study. Although surrounded by members of the same white race I identified with an ethnic group in the context of people from my own town.The essentialist and constructiveness theories for identity are distinct yet in practice difficult to separate. Ayirtman (2007) presents constructionist perspectives as the intersubjective formation of individual identities through confrontation and interaction with other(s) (p.10) whilst Chandra (2006) proposes that changes in ethnicity are constrained by descent-based attributes.In the context of race and ethnicity both statements were appropriate to the way I constructed my own identity throughout my adult years. The immersion in multiculturalism from a large city and university institution influenced me to many different races and ethnic groups. The confrontation of cultural diversity increased fluidity in the boundaries that constituted my identity about themes of race and ethnicity.However, the recognition of cultural differences in relation to my original culture and race still left intact some relatively fixed boundaries around essentialist perspectives. It is evident that Eva and I had different life experiences yet similarities emerge between our two identities. Prominent commonalities between Eva and I r elate to the essentialist perspective of race and ethnicity our childhood and adolescence years. Both Eva and I expressed prejudice toward other ethnic groups based on the biological characteristics of race and ethnicity.In relation to ethnicity and race the formative years consisted of plainly fixed and rigid boundaries around identity groups. Juteau (1996) describes these boundaries as monolithic and static, seen as grounded in common origin, genealogy and ancestry (p. 57). Similar to Eva the fixed nature of my identity boundaries correlated to racial and ethnic tensions resulting sometimes in violence, in varying degrees. Despite essentialised race and ethnicity in formative years commonalities exist between Eva and me through a post structuralist perspective.Racial prejudice was socially constructed through repeated discourses of conflict between racial groups throughout childhood and adolescence. Narrative through the evolving artefact of a diary allowed both Eva and I to ana lyse our subjectivities about aspects of our identities and both had the experience of an excellent teacher through which effective social interactions allowed empowerment and progressive reconstruction of identity. A key difference between me and the character Eva in The Freedom Writers is that I identified with the plethoric Discourse in society and Eva identified as a member of a minority ethnic group.Thomson states A successful school student is one who has acquired much of the dominant habitus, that is, ways of being in the world, as well as the cultural and symbolic capital derived from their schooling (p. 8). An analysis of Thomsons statement work on two levels. At the school level, and identifying as a member of the dominant culture, allowed me to be familiar with school discourse and the fellowships treasured there in. Evas ethnic and racial identity immediately placed her at odds with the school discourse which restricted her acquisition of cultural capital.At the leve l of society I was able to exert more agency through the social influence that a familiar discourse facilitated. A seemingly natural relationship existed through identification with a common culture, language and physical race attributes. Evas race and ethnicity reduced the agency she could exert against the dominant culture. Her common culture and race attributes are at odds in a society where the majority race was white. The similarities and differences evident between Evas identity and my own identity offer invaluable understandings to develop positive, productive teacher-student interactions in the classroom.Taking a post structural approach to pedagogy teachers can be aware that their own subjectivities will influence the way they teach. (Nayler 2005). . In a multi-cultural scenario where individual students bring a variety of cultural identities into the classroom a teacher faces the challenge of facilitating inclusive pedagogical practices. Carrington advises that the teache r facilitates a culture of respect and value for all members of the class. (p. 113).This statement requires student interactions that involve listening to other students and being encouraged to support each other through peer assisted learning. Classroom organisation must allow students to actively participate in altogether class, group collaboration, independent and problem- based learning. These student practices must be based around purposeful knowledge that engage what Thomson (2002) refers to as a students virtual schoolbag (p. 1). Through strong relationships between teacher, parent and community what students have learnt at home and in wider society can be transferred into the classroom.Therefore individual students knowledges, narratives and interests can be recognised and built upon with high teacher expectations of connecting them to the valued knowledges of the school curriculum. (Thomson, 2002). More specifically, is the need to embed Indigenous perspectives into the classroom. When embedding Indigenous studies into the classroom teachers (non-indigenous especially) need to access authentic knowledge and often admit their shortcomings in relation to skills and knowledge required to teach such units.Miller, Troy and Currell (2005) point out the risk that as members of the dominant culture (we are all white Australian), perhaps we found it easy to recidivate to a knowledge base that we had naturally accepted since early childhood (p. 61). Teachers must be critical about the resources they select to teach Indigenous studies whilst hammer strong relationships with Indigenous communities. These factors will ensure that Indigenous studies are taught from an indigenous perspective and not corrupted by social, political and historical perspectives of the dominant culture of which many teachers identify with.The identity categories of race and ethnicity can be analysed from an essentialist and post structuralist perspective. The post structural perspe ctive of race and ethnicity presents a more authentic analysis of identity as being influenced by different social contexts. Whilst the post structural perspective offers a more progressive application to Evas and my own identities essentialist influences are not invisible. The commonality of prejudice through race and ethnicity being essentialised offers an excellent reference point to show the usefulness of a post structural approach to productive teacher pedagogies.A post structural perspective offers the opportunity for teachers to critically reflect upon their own subjectivities in the context of their own identities. Teachers can therefore adopt pedagogical strategies that promote inclusiveness in the classroom and embrace the richness of cultural diversity, whilst linking the diverse array of knowledges to the value knowledges of the school curriculum. References 1. Marra, M (2005). Constructing Ethnicity and Leadership Through Storytelling at Work. Retrieved from http//www. mang. canterbury. ac. nz/anzca/FullPapers/06WorkCommFINALed.pdf 2. Carrington, S. (2007). Classroom relationships, pedagogy and practice in the inclusive classroom. In M. Keeffe & S. Carrington (Eds), Schools and diversity(2nd ed. ). (pp. 108-127). Sydney Pearson Australia. 3. Miller, M. , Dunn, T. & Currell, K. (2005). Learning and the importance of sagacious Student perspectives on centralising Indigenous knowledge in their preparation as teachers. In J. Phillips & Lampert (Eds), Introductory Indigenous studies in education The importance of knowing. (pp. 60-79). Sydney Pearson Australia. 4. Thomson, P. (2002).Vicki and Thanh. In Schooling the rustbelt kidsMaking the difference in Changing times (pp. 1-18). Crows Nest Allen & Unwind. 5. Nailer, J. (2005). Understanding ourselves. In J. Austin (Ed), Culture and Identity (2nd end). (pp. 139-154). Sydney Pearson Australia 6. Morning, A. (2006). Ethnic Classification in Global Perspective A Cross-National Survey of the 2000 Census Ro und. Retrieved from http//as. nyu. edu/docs/IO/1043/Morning_2008_Ethnic_Classification_in_Global_Perspective. pdf 7. Brickman, D. (2009). The Implications of Essentialist Beliefs for Prejudice.Retrieved from http//deepblue. lib. umich. edu/bitstream/2027. 42/63752/1/dbrick_1. pdf 8. Chandra, H. (2006). What is Ethnic Identity and does it Matter. Annual Review of Political Science, 9, (pp 397-424. ) Retrieved from http//www. nyu. edu/gsas/dept/ political sympathies/faculty/chandra/ars2005. pdf 9. Juteau, D. (1996). Theorising ethnicity and ethnic communalisations at the margins from Quebec to the world system. Nations and Nationalism, 2(1), (pp 45-66. ) Retrieved from http//onlinelibrary. wiley. com/doi/10. 1111/j. 1354-5078. 1996. 00045. x/abstract 10.Ayirtman, S. (2007). Recognition through Deliberation Toward Deliberative Accommodation of Cultural Diversity. Retrieved from http//arts. monash. edu. au/ pounds per square inch/news-and-events/apsa/refereed-papers/political-theory/say irtman. pdf 11. Zagefka, H (2008). The concept of ethnicity in social psychological research Definitional issues. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 33(3), (pp 228-241. ). 12. Gruwell, E (Writer), & Lagravenese, R (Director). (2006). In D. Devito, M. Shamberg, & S. Sheer (Producers), The Freedom Writers. Paramount Pictures.