A critical discourse analysis of racial

critical discourse analysis

Available online at

LinguisticsandEducation19(2008)

107–131

Acriticaldiscourseanalysisofracial

literacyinteachereducation

RebeccaRogersa, ,MelissaMosleyb

bUniversityofMissouriSt.Louis,CollegeofEducation,369MarillacHall,8001NaturalBridgeRoad,St.Louis,MO63121,UnitedStatesUniversityofTexas-Austin,CurriculumandInstruction1UniversityStationAustin,TX78712,UnitedStatesa

Abstract

Whatdoesracialliteracylookandsoundlikeinateachereducationbookclub?Usingthetoolsofcriticaldiscourseanalysis,we

describe,interpretandexplainhoweachmemberofthegroupdrawsonarangeofdiscursiveandembodiedresourcesforracial

literacy;particularly,howtheymaneuverthebookclubdiscoursetoresolvewhatconstitutesanti-racistactioninthebook.Inthis

article,wedemonstratethecomplexwaysinwhichthestudentsseektomakemeaningaroundthisissueandindoingso,drawonand

developasetofsemiotictoolswerefertoasracialliteracy.Wetracethemultiplemodes(visualandlinguistic)usedbyindividuals

andtheshiftsinthesemodesoverthecourseoftheconversation.Suchshifts,weargue,holdthepotentialforthedevelopmentofa

moreintricateformofracialliteracy.

©2008ElsevierInc.Allrightsreserved.

Keywords:Criticaldiscourseanalysis;Racialliteracy;Bookclubconversations

1.Introduction

WhyisitthatWhitepeoplehaveachoiceofwhetherornottheywanttodealwithordiscussissuesofracism?If

theyfeeltoouncomfortable,theycanlaughitoff.Or,asWinnie’sparentsdidinthestory(Iggie’sHouse),they

canjustignoreitsexistenceandcarryonwithlifeasifnothingiswrong.Whyisitthatpeopleofcolordonot

haveachoiceaboutdealingwiththeissuesofracismastheyencountereffectsofracismonaseeminglydaily

basis?Whydopeopleofcolorcarrytheburdenofexplainingtheircultureandbackground,understandingthe

ignoranceofWhitepeople,anddealingwiththeracistattitudesandactionsdirectedatthemfornootherreason

exceptforthecoloroftheirskin?Theydothework.(Faye’sjournalentry)

Aspartofabookclubinaliteracymethodscourse,Faye,anAfrican-Americanwoman,wrotetheaboveentryinher

journal.Inthisjournalentry,Fayeusestheverbs“dealwith”and“discuss”interchangeablywhenreferringtotheWhite

characters’engagementwithissuesofrace.Faye’schoiceofverbsforeshadowsonemovementintheconversations

aboutraceinherbookclub,thequestionoftheroleoftalkinsocialaction.Shealsoreferstoafamiliarformofwhite

engagementcalled“whitetalk,”(McIntyre,1997)inwhichWhitepeople“ignoreitsexistence”or“laughitoff,”in

which“it”referstoracism.FromFaye’sperspective,peopleofcolorhavetodirectlyengagewiththematerialeffects

Correspondingauthor.Tel.:+13145165797.

E-mailaddresses:rogers3948@(R.Rogers),mmosley@mail.utexas.edu(M.Mosley).

0898-5898/$–seefrontmatter©2008ElsevierInc.Allrightsreserved.

doi:10.1016/j.linged.2008.02.002

critical discourse analysis

108R.Rogers,M.Mosley/LinguisticsandEducation19(2008)107–131

andconsequencesofracism.Ratherthandealingwithracismthroughtalk,peopleofcolorareexpectedto“carrythe

burden”ofexplainingtheirculture,understandingtheignoranceofWhitepeopleanddealingwithracistattitudesand

actions.Faye’stalk,writing,andactions,alongsidethatofherpeersinthecourse,worktogethertoconstructparticular

meanings–whatwerefertoasracialliteracies–aroundrace,racismandanti-racisminthecontextoftheirbookclubs.

AsEuropean-Americanteachereducatorsandresearchers,welearnedaboutthetensionbetweentalkandaction

andhowworkingwiththisdialecticledtoadeeperunderstandingofrace,racismandanti-racism.Earlyinthecourse,

wefoundthatourEuropean-Americanstudentstendedtofocustheirculturalanalysisonpeopleofcoloranddid

notinterrogatewhitenessasaracializedidentity.Therefore,wedesignedabookclubwithchildren’sliteraturethat

includedWhitepeoplegrapplingwithracism,whiteprivilegeandanti-racism.Faye,Jenna,ChelseyandTodd,teacher

educationstudentsinthesecondoftwoofourliteracymethodscourses,weremembersofoneoffourbookclubsthat

readchildren’snovelsrelatingtothetheme,“Struggleforequity:anti-racismfromhistorytopresentday.”Thebooks

presentWhitepeopleasracializedandshiftthegazefrompeopleofcolortoWhitepeopleorasMorrison(1992)writes,

“fromtheracialobjecttotheracialsubject;fromthedescribedandimaginedtothedescribersandtheimaginers;from

theservingtotheserved”(p.90).

Acrossthecontextsofthebookclubdiscussions,thestudents’writtenrecordsandwholeclassdiscussions,we

askedthefollowingresearchquestions:Whatdoesracialliteracylookandsoundlikeinateachereducationbook

club?Howismeaningmadearoundrace,racism,andanti-racismacrosssemioticmodes?Howmightthenetworkof

discoursepracticeshelpusunderstandthepracticeofracialliteracy?

Usingthetoolsofcriticaldiscourseanalysis,wedescribe,interpretandexplainhoweachmemberofthegroup

drawsonarangeofdiscursiveandembodiedresourcesforracialliteracy:particularly,howtheymaneuverthebook

clubdiscoursetoresolvewhatconstitutesanti-racistactioninthebook.Inthisarticle,wedemonstratethecomplex

waysinwhichthestudentsseektomakemeaningaroundthisissueandindoingso,drawonanddevelopasetof

semiotictoolswerefertoasracialliteracy.Wetracethemultiplemodes(visualandlinguistic)usedbyindividuals

andthenetworksofthesemodesoverthecourseoftheconversation.Suchnetworks,weargue,holdthepotentialfor

afullerunderstandingofracialliteracy.

2.Relatedliteratureandtheoreticalframeworks

2.1.Racialliteracy

Racialliteracy,aconceptthatevolvedinaparallelfashioninthe eldsofcriticalracetheoryandwhiteness

studies,hasbeenexplainedashavingbothmicro-andmacro-dimensions.Fromthe eldofcriticalracetheory,Guinier

(2004)posesracialliteracyasaparadigmshiftawayfromracialliberalism,whichisrepresentedbythedecision

ofBrownv.BoardofEducation(1954).RacialliberalismincludestheperspectivethatAfrican-Americanstudents

arepsychologicallydisadvantagedbyracialsegregationinschools.Theeffectofsuchaperspectiveisthatanendto

segregationandcolorblindnesswillremedythesocial,political,andeconomicdisparitiesinU.S.society.Browndid

notprovideWhitepeople,inparticularworking-classandpoorWhites,withalanguageforthecoerciveanddivisive

elementsofraceandracism.Nordiditaddresstheresidentialsegregationthatholdseducationalinequityinplace

(Ladson-Billings,2004;Shapiro,2004).Instead,Brownperpetuatedtheideathatwhenracialsegregationdissolves,

eachindividual’sopportunitieswillplaceheronanevenplaying eld.

Incontrasttoracialliberalism,Guinier(2004)names“racialliteracy”asaninteractiveprocessinwhichtheframe-

workofraceisusedasalenstoexploresocialandlegalpractices,explicatingtherelationshipbetweenraceandpower,

andexaminingmitigatingvariablessuchasgender,class,andgeography.Racialliteracyrecognizesthehistorical

meaningofrace–thatraceisasociallyconstructedcategorythatfunctionstomaintainsocialhierarchies–aswellas

theeconomicoutcomesthatracecreates.Althoughaperspectiveandnotasolution,racialliteracyrecognizesthetan-

gibleandintangibleoutcomesofraceasasocialconstructandracismasamechanismforpowerfulgroupstomaintain

social,political,andeconomicadvantage.Racialliteracyrecognizestheinterest-divergencedilemma,inwhichrace,a

“toolofdivisionanddistraction”hasbeenusedtopitworking-classEuropean-AmericansagainstAfrican-Americans

bycreatingasystemwherejobsandeducationalopportunitiesarepartofazero-sumgame(Guinier,2004,p.99).

Guinier’sconceptualizationofracialliteracyreliesonhistorical,economicandinstitutionalpracticesandlocatesracial

literacyattheinstitutionallevel,ratherthanattheindividuallevel,anabsenceTwine(2004)addresses.

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Fromwhitenessstudies,Twine(2004)de nesracialliteracyasasetof“micro-culturalsocialprocesses”(pp.881)

springingfrom“...earlierinterdisciplinaryworkonracismandanti-racisminblackstudiesandwhitenessstudiesby

providingamicro-culturalempiricalanalysisofthe‘labour’thatWhiteparentsperformastheytranslateandtransform

themeaningofwhiteness,blackness,andracismintheirfamiliesofreproduction”(881).Twine(2004)furtherde nes

racialliteracyas“resources,”“patternofpractices,”(pp.882)“conceptualtools”and“racialvocabularies”(pp.884)

thatWhiteparentsuseto“activelytraintheirchildrentoresistracism”(pp.882).Thus,herconceptualizationofracial

literacyinvolvesasetofsocialpracticeswhichcanbetaughtandlearnedandalsoincludesapositivetheorizationof

whitenesswhichincludesanti-racistpractices.TwinecallstheworkoftheWhiteparentsatypeofracialliteracythat

isalsoaformof“invisiblelabour”(pp.900).Shewrites,“althoughtheydonotoccur[anti-raciststrategies]onthe

picketlinesinviewoforganizedanti-racists,they,nevertheless,constituteonetypeofanti-racistproject”(pp.902).

AnimportantaspectofTwine’s(2004)workistheattentionpaidtotheteachingandlearningofracialliteracy,anarea

ofsigni canceforteachereducation.

Ofparticularinterestforthepresentprojectisthepracticeofracialliteracyinthecontextofteachereducation.Sleeter

(2001),amongothers,havearguedthatexplorationsofraceandculturemustincludeanexaminationofwhiteness,as

nearly90%ofteachersandteachereducationstudentsareWhite(dson-Billings,1999inMarx&Pennington,

2003).Therearerichexamplesintheliteratureofhowuniversitystudents,especiallyWhites,participateindiscussions

abouttherelationshipbetweenwhitenessandracism(Chubbuck,2004;deFrietas,2005;Levine-Rasky,1998;Marx&

Pennington,2003;McIntyre,1997;Schick,2000;Seidl,2007;Willis,2003).ResearchershavefoundthatmanyWhite

studentsshowambivalencetowardsdiscussionsofraceandracism(Levine-Rasky,1998);maintainsilencearound

issuesofracebecausetheywereinmixedracecompanyoutoffearthattheywouldsaythewrongthing(Case&

Hemmings,2005;Trainor,2005);oravoiddiscomforttalkingaboutraceatall,infearofsoundingracist(Marx&

Pennington,2003).

OtherresearchhasdocumentedhowWhiteteachersanduniversitystudentsareoftenunawareoftheirracialpositions

andespouseacolorblindideology,inwhichwhitenessisprivilegedandreproduced(e.g.McIntyre,1997;Schick,2000).

McIntyre’s(1997)nowclassicstudy,forinstance,describes“whitetalk”asnaturallyoccurringtalkthatshoresupthe

commonprivilegesWhitessharewhileavoidingtherolestheyplay,bothindividuallyandcollectively,inmaintaining

racism.Whitestalkthemselvesoutofindividualresponsibilityforcurrentarticulationsofracismby“derailingthe

conversation,evadingquestions,dismissingcounterarguments,withdrawingfromthediscussion,remainingsilent,

interruptingspeakersandtopics,andcolludingwitheachotherincreatinga‘cultureofniceness’thatmadeitvery

dif cultto‘readthewhiteworld”’(McIntyre,1997,pp.46).Further,McIntyre(1997) ndsthatinterruptingother

speakers,silence,switchingconversationtopicsfromwhitenessandprivilege,blindlyacceptingracistnotionsand

stereotypes,talkingoveranotherspeaker,participatingincollectivelaughtertoeaseanxietyandstress,andcollusion

withotherWhitesservetofurtherkeepinterrogationsofprivilegeatbaytherebyparalyzingthecriticalexamination

ofwhitenessandre-centeringwhitenessasnormal.

SuchscholarshippointstotheneedforthepracticeofracialliteracyamongstWhiteteachersandteachereducators.

Recently,whatisreferredtoasthe“thirdwavewhiteness”scholarship(Twine,2008),includesare-theorizingof

whitenessstudiestoincludeamultiplicityofidentitiesthattakeastheirpointofdeparture,“theunderstandingthat

whitenessisnotnow,norhasiteverbeen,astatic,uniformcategoryofsocialidenti cation”(Twine,2008,pp.6).

Thisre-theorizationofwhitenessresiststheessentializingtendenciesoflocatingWhiteracialidentityasstable,apoint

duBois(1903/1982)madeoveracenturyago.ThisopensthepossibilityforamorepositivetheorizationofWhite

racialidentitythatincludesamoredetailedrenderingoflearning.

Someoftheworklocatedinanti-racistscholarshiphasprovidedamorenuancedviewofwhiteness.Forexample,

Lipsitz(1998)hasdemonstratedthetransformationofWhiteidentities.Inthecontextofeducation,literature-based

discussionsfocusedonculturaldifference,forexample,thoseinTrainor(2005),Florio-Ruane,Raphael,Glazier,

McVee,andWallace(1997)andLewis,Ketter,andFabos(2001),oftenleadtodiscussionsaboutmaterial,psychological,

anddiscursiveformsofracismthatexistinsocietyaswellasilluminatemultipleperspectivesandwaysofviewing

theworld.Otherscholarshaveconsideredthe uidityandsocialconstructionofnarrativesaboutrace.McVee(2005)

tracesthediscoursepatternsembeddedwithinthenarrativesofaWhiteteacheroverthecourseofasemester.This

teacherretoldthesamenarrativeofher rstexperienceenteringanAfrican-Americanschoolsixtimesoverthecourse

ofthesemester.Shefoundthatacrossmultipleretellingsofthesamenarrativethatthestructureandevaluationsofthe

narrativeschangedfromacolorblindideologytorecognizingherpositionasaWhitewomanandwonderingaboutthe

consequencesofherpositioning.

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Itispossible,then,forwhitetalktoconstructandrepresentpositiveandprogressiveunderstandingsofWhiteracial

identitydevelopmentsuchasinthecaseofWhiteallies(Lipsitz,1998;Stokes-Brown,2002).WhenWhitepeople

directlyengage(withotherWhitesaswellaswithpeopleofcolor)indiscussionsaroundrace,racism,andanti-racism,

anduselinguisticstrategieswhichcenter(ratherthandismiss)theirresponsibilityasWhitepeople,thistoo,becomes

aformandfunctionofwhitetalk.

Giventhislandscape,racialliteracy,then,involvesasetoftools(psychological,conceptual,discursive,material)

thatallowindividuals(bothpeopleofcolorandWhitefolks)todescribe,interpret,explainandactontheconstellation

ofpractices(e.g.historical,economic,psychological,interactional)thatcompriseracismandanti-racism.Narratives

andcounter-narrativesaretoolsofracialliteracy—theybothstructureandrepresentlivedexperiencesandofferthe

opportunitynameone’sownexperienceandreality(e.g.Bell,1992;Perry,Steele,&Hilliard,2003).Withinthecontext

ofteachereducation,narrativesareoftenusedtointroduceandexploremattersofculture,raceanddiversity(e.g.

Florio-Ruane,2001;McVee,2004)throughliterature.Florio-Ruane(2001)notesthatculturalunderstandingsreside

incollective(e.g.publicdiscourses,familystories,andcommon-senseunderstandings)andindividualnarratives.

Narrativesarecomprisedofdiscursivehistories,whichhavebothsocialandcognitivethreads,asvanDijk(1993)

pointsout.Indeed,theuseofnarrativesandliteraturecanhelpreadersimaginesocialspaceswhereracialjusticeisthe

normratherthantheexception.Inpracticingracialliteracy,apersonusesthediscursiveresourcesandstorylinesthat

areavailabletothemthroughtheirinteractionalhistoriesandinputtingthesestorylinetowork,becomeacertaintype

ofperson(Davies,1990).

2.2.Discoursein/associalaction

Becauseracialliteracy,accordingtoGuinier(2004)isinherentlyconcernedwithmaterialconditions,atheory

andmethodforunderstandingtherelationshipsbetweendiscourseandactionisneeded.Criticaldiscoursetheories

assumethatsocialproblems,includingracism,arelargelyconstituted,reproducedandresistedthroughdiscourseand

theirassociatedactions(e.g.Norris&Jones,2005;Scollon,1998).Discourseshavematerialconsequences—certain

actionsaretakenornotbecauseofhowsocialproblemsareframed.Indeed,discursiveframeworksarerootedin

materialism(e.g.Callinicos,1993;ChouliarakiandFairclough,1999;Scollon,1998;Shapiro,2004).Materialtheories

ofracecombinestructuralandinstitutionalfactors,whichstructureracialhierarchies.Thatis,theoristsarguethat

theconsequencesofracismaremorethandiscursiveorpsychological,butresultininequities(economic,political,

andeducational)acrossraciallines.Therefore,weassumethatactionsareembeddedwithindiscoursesand,related,

discourseisaformofsocialaction(Fairclough&Wodak,1997).Throughaction,peopleproducethechainofevents

thatcometomakemeaninginparticularways.

IntheirbookWordsthatWound,Matsuda,Lawrence,Delgado,andCrenshaw(1993)arguethatthereareclear

linksbetweenwordsanddeed.Theypointouttherelationshipbetween“theviolenceoftheword”andviolentcrimes

(e.g.psychological,physical,andeconomic).Theywrite,“fromthevictim’sperspectivealloftheseimplementsin ict

woundsthatareneitherrandomnorisolated”(pp.24–25).Wecannotseparatethetalk,suchasdirect(orindirect)racist

language,thatconstructsracismatthelevelofindividualinteractionsandlargersocialpracticesfromthematerial

impactofracismonpeopleofcolor.Aparallelargumentcanalsobemadeforthewaysinwhichanti-racisttalkcan

reconstructindividualpositioningsandsocialrelationships.

Racistmeaningsarealsoconstructedandperpetuatedthroughsymbolismasmuchasthroughtalkandtextsbecause

meaningisconstructedbyanarrayofmaterialsandmodes(e.g.Smitherman&vanDijk,1988;vanDijk,1984,

1987).News,media,movies,andothervisualtextscommunicatemessagesaboutracethatarereadbyviewers.

Racism,forinstance,oftenexistsintheformofmicroaggressions,“unconsciousandsubtleformsofracism,”which

arepervasiveinsocialspaces(Solorzano,Cela,&Yosso,2000)andcanmanifestthemselvesthroughanysemiotic

mode.

Callingonthedialecticalrelationshipbetweenthesemioticsofrepresentationandsocialpracticesbecomesnecessary

tounderstandtheemergenceanddevelopmentofracialliteracy.“Theembodimentofmeaning,”Kress(2003a,b)

explainsis,“howmeaningismadethroughtheeye,theear,inyourmouth,orthroughtheear...alloftheseare

equallyimportantinmeaningmaking”(interview,2003,pp.7).Eachmodemakescertainkindsofcommitmentsabout

meaning,intendedornot(Kress,2000).Inthemultimodalityofdiscourseandinteraction,sayforexampleinabook

clubconversation,choice(anddesign)becomecentralissues.Thus,meaningmakinginvolveschoosingtorepresent

andinterpretacrossanarrayofmodes(visualandverbal).Intendedornot,suchchoiceindexesaperson’spositionality

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R.Rogers,M.Mosley/LinguisticsandEducation19(2008)107–131111

inanygivencontext.Withinracialliteracy,astudyofchangesandshiftsindiscursivepracticesmayindexagencyand

socialaction(Davies,1990;Wortham,2005).

Fortoolong,racialliteracyandthediscursivepracticesassociatedwithracialliteracyhavebeenunavailableto

Whitepeopleasarethearticulationofsemioticresourcesusedtodevelopanti-racistpractices.Thus,itbecomes

unimaginableforpeopletowritethemselvesintoanarrativeinwhichWhitepeoplecanbeworkingtowardsanti-

racism.Ifparticipantshaveaccesstoalternativediscursivepracticestheycandesignnewformsofmeaning.Thus,our

goalinthisstudywastotakestockoftheresourcesavailable(anddisplayed)bytheparticipantsinthisbookclub,

describehowtheyinterminglewithothernarrativesandresourcesandmakearecommendationforwhataspectsof

racialliteracymightneedfurtherdevelopment.

3.Researchdesignandmethods

Thedatapresentedherewerepartofalarger,yearlongstudyfocusedonhowpre-serviceteacherslearntoteach

literacywithincriticalliteracyframeworks.Theresearchdesignrotatedbetween“watching,”“asking,”and“analyzing”

inaniterativemannerthatinformedourteaching.Wecollecteddatainformofvideo-andaudio-recordings, eldnotes,

interviewsanddocumentcollectiononthefollowingcomponentsoftheclass:seminardiscussions,tutoringsessions,

smallgroupdiscussions,bookclubdiscussionsandpre-andpost-interviews.

We,theteachereducatorsandresearchersinthisstudy,areEuropean-Americanwomen,teachereducatorsand

literacyresearcherswhostudyliteracylearningacrossthelifespan.Webothactivelyintegrateanti-racistperspectives

inourscholarship.Overthecourseoftheyear,eachofusperformedrolesasteachereducatorsandresearchersinthe

courses,collectingdataandleadingdiscussions,providinglectures,andobservinganddebrie ngwiththestudents.

Duringlecturesanddiscussions,ourpedagogicalstancewastomodelthetypesofteachingthatweadvocatedfor

ourstudents–approachesthatareculturallyrelevant,critical,andanti-racist–andthereforewestayedclosetotheir

experiencesincoursetopicsanddiscussions.

Itiswithinthiscontextthatwesituateouranalysisofthebookclubs.Wedrawfrommultipledatasourcesincluding

videotapedbookclubconversations, eldnotesandparticipants’writtenartifacts(e.g.journalsandonlinediscussions).

Wewereparticularlyinterestedinaresearchdesignandsetofanalytictoolsthatwouldallowustotracetheresemi-

otizationofdiscourseacrossconversationsandcontexts,whichsignalslearningandtransformation(Chouliarakiand

Fairclough,1999).

3.1.Context

Theparticipantsarepre-serviceteachersatamid-westernuniversityenrolledinateachereducationprogram.The

guidingprinciplesoftheteachereducationprogramstatedthatgraduatesofthisprogramwillbecommittedtoequitable

andjusteducationforallstudents,willknowthesubjectstheyteachwellandknowhowtoteach,andenacttherole

ofinquirer.Severaloftheclassesintheprogramarerequiredofbothundergraduateandgraduateteachingdegrees

and,asaresult,ourclassesincludedbothlevelsofstudents.Ourclassincludedfourgraduatestudentsandeleven

undergraduates.FourteenstudentswereEuropean-American.TherewasoneAfrican-Americanwomanenrolledin

class.Thirteenofthestudentswerewomenandtwoofthestudentsweremen.Whenweaskedthestudentstowrite

theirculturalautobiographies,welearnedthattheywerediverseintermsoftheirgeographic,religious,andsocio-

economicbackgrounds(McCarthy,2003).Theprogramfollowsacohortmodelandthestudentstookthreeliteracy

coursestogether.Twooftheliteracycourseswerelocatedatanurbanelementaryschoolandincludedapracticum

component.

EveryTuesdayduringtheacademicyear,theteachereducationstudentsmetatanurbanelementaryschoolfrom2:00

to5:00.TheschoolwasgeographicallylocatedinanAfrican-Americancommunityinametropolitancity,about3miles

fromtheuniversity.Thecommunityexperiencedchangeinthemid-20thcenturyasWhiteresidentsmovedsuburban

communitiesandAfrican-AmericanresidentsoftheLiddellneighborhoodweredisplacedfromadjacentareas.Grand

buildings,includingtheschoolbuildingaretracesofthemiddleandupperclasscommunitiesthatwereoncehere,and

now,familieswhoattendtheschoollivebelowthepovertyline.Theuniversityclass,heldinanunusedclassroom,

includedapracticumaswellasaseminar.Inadditiontoreadinganddiscussingtheselectedtexts,studentswereasked

todesignandimplementliteracylessonsforanelementarystudent,writeandrevisetheirculturalautobiography,and

writeare ectiveessayaspartoftheircourseassignments.Thebookclub,whichwefocusoninthisstudy,hadfour

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components:reading,discussion,re ectinginjournalsandawholeclassdiscussion(Florio-Ruane,2001;Raphael,

Florio-Ruane,&George,2001).

EarlyinthecoursewenoticedhowtheEuropean-Americanstudentsinclasstendedtofocustheirculturalanalyses

onpeopleofcoloranddidnotinterrogatewhitenessasaracializedidentity.Inadeliberatepedagogicalmove,wechose

literatureforthebookclubsthatincludedWhitepeoplegrapplingwithanti-racism.Weselectedfourbooks:Iggie’s

House(Blume,1975/1983/2001)ManiacMagee(Spinelli,1999),Darby(Fuqua,2002),andTheJacket(Clements,

2002).Weselectedthesebooksbecausetheyrepresentedarangeofgenres,coveredmultiplepointsinU.S.history,

presentedyoungchildrenasracializedprotagonists,andwerewrittenforchildreninthirdandfourthgrades.Students

wereaskedtosignupforthe rstandsecondchoicebooks.Theywereplacedinbookclubsbasedontheirchoices

(seeRogers&Christian,2007foradetailedanalysisofthechildren’sliterature).

Asteacher-researchers,weeachreadanddiscussedthebooksbeforeclass.Duringthebookclubdiscussions,we

rotatedbetweenthegroups,listeningandnotingthemesandissuesthatwouldmakeforprovocativediscussionswhen

thewholeclasscametogether.Inthisanalysis,wefocusonadiscussionofthebookIggie’sHouse.Wereturnedto

thisbookclubforcloseranalysisbecausetheparticipantshelddifferentinterpretationsoftheracialliteracyofthe

protagonist.Winnie,thebook’sprotagonist,lamentingoverthemoveofherfriendIggie,spiesthenewfamilymoving

intoIggie’soldhouse.ShenoticesimmediatelythatthefamilyhasthreechildrenandthattheyareBlack.Inaneffort

tobeneighborly,WinnieextendsherfriendshiptotheGarberchildren.Theirrelationshipisnotwithoutitsproblems,

however.Neighborssignapetitiontoforcethefamilytomoveoutoffearofdesegregation.Whenthepetitiondoes

notforcethefamilytomove,asignispostedintheGarber’sfrontyardtellingthemto“GOBACKWHEREYOU

BELONG.WEDON’TWANTYOURKINDAROUNDHERE!!!!!”.Thisfurtherexacerbatesthetenuousrelationship

betweenWinnieandtheGarberchildren.ThroughletterswrittentotheabsentIggie,weseeWinnie’sWhiteracial

development.AttheendofthetextWinnierecognizesandadmitsthatsheknowslessaboutracialrelationsthansheonce

thought.

3.2.Participantsinthebookclub

Faye,Todd,Chelsey,andJennawereparticipantsintheIggie’sHousegroup,thefocusofourstudy.Theyeach

broughtacomplexarrayofsubjectpositionswiththemtoclassthatprovideabackdropforunderstandinghow

theyapproachedthebookclubdiscussions.Lookingacrossthecategoriesofgender,race,geographicalbackground,

degreestatus(e.g.graduateorundergraduate),dispositionstowardracialliteracy,andwaysofapproachingacademic

writinganddiscussion,wecanseethatthesefourstudentscametothediscussionsoftextsfrommultiple,intersecting

positions.

3.2.1.Faye

Agraduatestudentintheclass,Fayeenteredhergraduateprogramaftercompletingabachelor’sdegreeinAfrican-

AmericanStudiesandEducationalStudies.FayewastheonlyAfrican-Americanwomanintheclass.Fayegrewupin

alargefamily.Attheuniversity,Faye“hadtocometotermswiththefactthatIwasaBlackperson,afemaleatthat,

onacampusswarmingwithpeoplewhodidnotlooklikeme...IalsohadtodissectthesolideducationthatIthought

IhadreceivedforthewhitewashedrhetoricthatIwasactuallytaught...”.Duringthecourseofthisstudy,Fayepartic-

ipatedinaweekendanti-racisminstitute.Shealsotaughtatanelementaryschoolwheresheestablishedanacademic

programforstudentswhoparticipatedinthedesegregationprogram.Fayereadilyengagedwithissuesofculturally

relevantandanti-racistliteracyinstructionindiscussions,injournalsandteaching.Shedemonstratedcontroloverthe

technicalaspectsofliteracyinstructionandshethoughtcarefullyabouttheculturalrelevanceofreadingstrategiesand

prompts.

3.2.2.Todd

Anundergraduateintheclass,TodddoublemajoredinPsychologyandElementaryEducation,althoughhedropped

hismajorinElementaryEducationto nishschoolearlyandenteractivemilitaryduty.ToddwasoneoftwoWhite

menintheclass.Todddescribedgrowingupinasmall“conservative,rural,Midwest”townandcomingfroma“very

conservativeLutheranfamily.”Toddadmitshavingtounlearnstereotypesaboutallsortsofpeopleoncehearrivedat

theuniversity.Todddidnotopenlyopposeengagingwithissuesofculturallyrelevantandanti-racistinstruction,but

wouldoftenappeartonotlistentohispeers,sometimesleavingtheroomwhenthosepeerswerediscussingtopics

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R.Rogers,M.Mosley/LinguisticsandEducation19(2008)107–131113

relatedtorace.Todd’steachingsufferedbecauseofhislackofpreparationforclass—heoftendidnothavelesson

logscompletedand/ornotcompletedthereadings.WespentadditionaltimeworkingwithToddonaspectsofliteracy

teachingthatwerenotyetunderhiscontrol.

3.2.3.Chelsey

Chelsey,aEuropean-Americanundergraduatestudent,majoredinElementaryEducation.Chelseyattendedaracially

diversehighschoolandde nesherselfasanavidreaderfromaveryyoungage.Chelseyexplainedherdesiretobecome

ateacherintermsofherloveforchildren.Sheeasilybuiltrapportwiththeelementarystudentshetutored.Chelsey

commentedseveraltimesinclassandinherjournalsthatshedidnotthinkitwasnotdevelopmentallyappropriateto

engageyoungchildrenindiscussionaroundrace,racism,andanti-racism.Shemadeseveralpostingsontheonline

discussionboardthatindicatedshethought,fromherexperiencesinhighschool,thatracialissuesweregiventoomuch

attention.

3.2.4.Jenna

Jennawasanundergraduatewhodouble-majoredinEducationandAnthropology.Jennaattendedpublicschoolsin

themetropolitanareawherethisstudytookplace.Inanautobiography,shedescribedherselfas“devotedtoteaching

practicesthatpromotejusticeandbuildcommunityinherclassroom.”Jennahadmanyconnectionswiththelocal

contextofteachinginthiscity.Eachofherteachinglessonsincludedspeci creadingandwritingstrategieswithina

culturallyresponsiveframework.Duringthecourseofthestudy,Jennajoinedateacherinquirygroupoutsideofher

coursework.Shewasalsoactiveinvariouscommunityactivistgroups.

3.3.Datacollection

Thedatasourcesdrawnonforouranalysisinclude eldnotesofseminarsessions,coursematerials,re ective

journals,andrecordings(audioandvideo)ofteachereducationstudents’oralandwrittenconversationsaroundthe

bookclubbooks.Eachbookgroupmettwice,overthecourseoftwoconsecutiveweeks,todiscusstheirbook.We

video-recordedthetwodiscussionsoftheIggie’sHousebookgroup.Wealsovideo-recordedandtook eldnotesfrom

thetwowholeclassdiscussionswherethebookgroupscametogetherandsharedtheinsightsthataroseduringtheir

bookclubdiscussions.Wealsovideo-recordedandtook eldnotesofthreediscussionsthatoccurredaswereadbooks

thatfocusedonraceandanti-racismaloudtotheclass.Inaddition,wecollectedwrittenartifactssuchasweeklyjournal

entries,re ectiveessays,andonlinediscussionpostingsthatrelatedtothebookclubdiscussions.1

3.4.Analysis

Ouranalysisdrawsonthetoolsofcriticaldiscourseanalysis(Fairclough,1992;Gee,2006)andmultimodaldis-

courseanalysis(e.g.Norris,2004).CDAineducationresearchhasbeenusedtodescribe,interpret,andexplainthe

relationshipsbetweenmicro-andmacro-processeswithintextsanddiscourses.CDAfocusesonhowtextsarecon-

stitutivelyconstructed;howtheyenactsocialrelationshipsandsocialidentities(ChouliarakiandFairclough,1999;

Fairclough,1992;Wodak&Meyers,2001).Thus,peoplearealwaysdoingsomethingwithwords.Drawingonthetex-

tualresourcesofsystemicfunctionallinguistics(Halliday,1978),CDAattemptstotracethepatterningofmodeswithin

andacrosstexts,payingparticularattentiontopatternsofpower(e.g.dominance/oppressionorliberation/justice).

Multimodaldiscourseanalysis(MDA)drawsonsemioticsanddiscoursetheoriesandfocusesonhowpeoplein

acommunityofpracticemakechoicesabouthowtouseactionstopositionthemselvesandothers(Norris,2004).

Multimodaldiscourseanalysisseestheuseofanysortofmediationaltool(verbal,textual,andgestural)tocreate

socialpracticesassocialaction.MDAbroadenstheedgesofdiscourseanalysistoincludegestures,objectsand

othernon-linguistictools,attendstothedistributionofmeaningacrossmode,andhowthispatterningconstitutes

socialaction.Byattendingtothepatternsofmodesthatcreateaparticularmeaning—gestures,proxemics,head

movementsandsoon,theanalystcandescribetherelationshipbetweentheformandfunctionofcommunicativemodes.

1Adetailedtimelineofthedatacollectionovertheyearlongcourseisavailableforinterestedreaders.

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114R.Rogers,M.Mosley/LinguisticsandEducation19(2008)107–131

Inouranalysis,wedescribe,interpretandexplainhowmeaningisdistributedacrossmodessuchaslanguage,

movement,gestureandthelayoutofthephysicalspace,aswellasthesocialidentitiesasindicatedbythelanguage

andmovement.Thismethodalsoallowsustoseehowsocialactionintheclassroom(asapartofbookclubs)ispart

oflargersocietalnarratives.

3.4.1.Procedures

Wetranscribedeachofthevideotapesthatpertainedtothebookclubstructure:literaturereadaloudtothegroup

bycourseinstructors,bookclubdiscussionsamongparticipantsandwholeclassdiscussions.Aswetranscribedthe

videotapesweattendedtolanguageandnonverbalcuessuchasposture,eyegaze,silences,movements,andproxemics.

Webeganallofthetranscriptswiththeverbal,becausethatwastheprimarymodeofcommunicationintheresearch

design.Then,weaddedinitalicstheprominentnonverbaldiscoursewhilewatchingthevideosinavideo-software

programthatallowsforaframe-by-framelookatthevideo.Thenonverbaldescriptionwastranscribedsecond-by-

second.Next,weembeddedstillframeimagesintothetranscriptsatmomentswesawasmodallycomplexortellingin

termsofthenonverbalinteraction.Inseveralcases,weputmultipleframestogethertoseeaphoto-storytoseechanges

inproxemics,posture,gesture,andothermarkersofinteractionalpositioningacrosstime.

Werepresentedeachtranscriptinatableorganizedbyideastructure,participantroles,andassociatedmultimodality

(seeTable1).Ideastructurenamedtheideaspresentedorrestatedinthatsectionoftranscript.Forparticipantroles,

weidenti edthenumberandlengthofturnstakenbyeachparticipantineachideaconstructionaswellastheposition

theytookup.Wechoseastillframeandrepresentedthemultimodalinteractionbywritingaboutthenonverbalmodes

employedintheconstructionoftheidea.Returningtoourresearchquestionsandsectionsofouranalysisthatseemed

especiallyprovocative(eithertherewascon ictorsurprise)wecalledonthetheoriesandmethodsofCDAtomore

fullyunderstandtheconstructionofracialliteracy.

TheCDAframeworkweusedrawsonthetheoriesandmethodsofGee(1999/2006),Fairclough(1992),Fairclough

(2004)andNorris(2004).WecallonGee’s(1999/2006)well-knowndistinctionbetween“discourse”and“Discourse”

tosignifytherelationshipbetweenthe“languagebits”anindividualuses—thegrammatical,syntactical,semanticand

nonverbalchoicesmade(“d”discourse)andthesocialpracticestheyconstructorevokethroughtheirlanguageuse(“D”

Discourse).Inouranalysis,therelationshipbetweenthelanguagebits(“d”)andthewaysofvaluing,believing,acting

thatcomprisesocialpractices(“D”)areactualizedthroughtheelementsofgenre,discourseandstyle(Fairclough,

2004;Halliday,1978).Aswedescribegenre,discourseandstylebelowweusethecapital/smallercaseorthographic

conventionsmadepopularbyGee(1999/2006)tospecifyhowlinguisticrealizationsareconnectedtolargersocial

practices.SeeAppendixAforachartofsemioticresourcesacrossparticipantsinthebookclub.

WeuseChouliarakiandFairclough’s(1999)de nitionofgenreas“thesortoflanguage(andothersemiosis)tiedtoa

particularsocialactivitysuchasaninterview”(pp.63).Genresmaybeviewedas“waysofinteracting”andincludethe

organizationalthreadsofinteracting(“g”)suchasturntakingstructures,cohesivedevices,parallelstructure,politeness

conventions,revoicing,narrativesequencing,etc.Analysisoftheorganizationalthreadsofaparticulargenreallows

ustoseethetypeofgenrethatisbeingconstructed(“G”).Forinstance,aninterviewcanbedescribedasagenrebut

dependingonthelinguisticrealizationoftheinterview“g”(e.g.turn-takingstructure,politenessconventions,etc.)the

genreoftheinterview“G”canbedescribedindifferentways(e.g.formalandinformal).

Eachutterancebothraisespossibilitiesandprecludesotherpossibilitiesthatsignifymeta-narratives,ordiscourses.

Discoursesare“waysofrepresenting”ideasandincludewhatLuke(2000)referredtoas“systematicclustersofthemes,

statements,ideasandideologies”(p.456).Discoursesembodytensionsandcontradictions.Meta-narrativesareiden-

ti edthroughideaunits“d”discourse.Theyarealsoidenti edthroughthe“waysofinteracting”thatincludesvalues,

emotions,beliefs,bodilypositions—or“D”discourses.Forinstance,aninterviewaboutanti-racismmayevokevarious

themesaboutanti-racism(e.g.whiteprivilege,af rmativeaction).“D”iscoursesaremateralizedthroughcirculating

statementsandideaunits—or“d”iscourses.Asaresult,meta-narrativesaboutanti-racismmaybediscursivelyrealized

inawiderangeofways,waysthattheanalystsetsouttodescribe.

Finally,communicationalwaysinvolvespositiontaking,sowelookatwaysofbeing,orstyle.Stylesare“waysof

being”andrepresentinterpersonalchoice(tenorinHalliday’sterm,1978).Ananalysisofstyleincludesananalysis

ofthelinguisticrealizationsofstyle“s”—voice(activeorpassive),modality(tenseandaf nity),mood(questions,

statements,demands),transitivity(e.g.action,affective,ability,cognitivestatements),pronounuseandverbalprocesses

(e.g.material,mental,relationalandverbal)(Christie,2002;Fairclough,1992)aswellasthesocialidentitiesand

positionsthatareconstructedthroughtheserealizations“S.”Forinstance,duringaninterviewwithateacherabout

critical discourse analysis

Table 1 MDA transcripta Time, turns 3:57 to 4:21, 12 turns Ideas The introduction to the idea that in the book“nothing happened.” No social action or justice occurred because the protagonist was powerless Imageb Multimodality (29) Jenna is leaning slightly towards Faye (30) Faye’s ankles are crossed and she looking down at her book (31) Faye looks at Jenna, softens her tone (32) Faye’s head moves back and forth to compliment what she is saying (33) Faye’s tone of voice raises (34–36) Faye’s tone of voice raises Verbal discourse (29) Faye: I think that’s interesting (30) Um, I think I can see how (31) maybe you could feel that (32) but I didn’t feel that at all (33) Jenna: what did you feel like? (34) Faye: This little, this book made me upset (35) I don’t like to read books (36) where nothing happens (37) Jenna: ohhhhh R. Rogers, M. Mosley/ Linguistics and Education 19 (2008) 107–131

(37) Jenna’s mouth opens wide, eyebrows raise, eyes get wide, shifts gaze from the table to Faye

a Description: The table includes one idea segment from a 17-min book club conversation on the book Iggie’s House. Chelsey takes 47 turns, 10 which are characterized as overlapping speech to move another’s talk along. She also makes two failed attempts to gain the oor. Faye takes 75 turns, 5 of which are overlapping and used to agree with another participant. Jenna takes 96 turns, but 48 turns include overlapping speech only that moves the conversation along or shows agreement (mmm hmm, right, laughter). b We recreated this image using a drawing in the style of Leander and Rowe (2006) to mask the identities of participants for the purpose of this article. However, we used actual video-stills in our analysis. In this image, numbers correspond to multimodality in each turn, arrows denote directionality of body movements during a turn, and thin lines that become thicker denote the focus of g

aze.

115

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116R.Rogers,M.Mosley/LinguisticsandEducation19(2008)107–131

anti-racismtheteacherusesthelinguisticresourcesofstyle“s”(e.g.modality,pronounuse)topositionherselfasa

certaintypeofteacher“S”(e.g.anti-racistteacher,colorblindteacher).

Meaningmakingisrealizedthroughverbalandnonverbalutterances(e.g.gestureorpostureshift).Thus,wetook

stockofthewaysinwhichmultimodalresourcesweredistributedacrossgenre,discourseandstyle.Forinstance,

gesturescanholdaninteractiontogether(genre),functioningasacohesivedevice;whileatthesametimemarking

emotionandastancethatisnotpresentinwords(style).Whatisrelevanttothepresentanalysisisthechaining

orpatterningofmodesandhow/whatchainsofmodesindividualsdrawonandhowthesearereshapedwithinthe

moment-by-momentinteractionsofthegroupandhowthesearethenchangedandreworkedforindividuals.

Asindicatedinourdescriptionsabove,thelower/uppercaseletterspopularizedbyGee(1999/2006)isa

usefulconventiontosignifytherelationshipsbetweenlinguisticelementsandsocialpracticeswithintheCDA

framework—g/Genre,d/Discourseands/Style.Thatis,thelinguisticelementsof“g”genre,“d”discourse,and

“s”stylearepartofalargermatrixthatsignalssocialpracticesandmeta-narratives(“G,”“D,”“S”).Because

usingg/G,d/D,ands/Sthroughoutthepaperiscumbersome,werefertotherelationshipbetweenlanguagebits

andsocialpracticeswhichunderlieeachaspectoftheframeworkusinglowercaseletters(genre,discourse,and

style).

Wechartedthepatternsofgenre,discourseandstyleforeachparticipantinthebookclub,lookingforpatternsin

participationacrossthemodes(again,seeAppendixA).Atthislevelofanalysis,forexample,wenotedthatFaye

oftenuseda“yes...but”construction,apolitenessconventionusedtoentertheconversationwithtogetthe oorwith

acounter-point(genre)coupledwiththemeta-narrativethatanti-racismshouldbeactionbased(discourse)andheld

togetherbyverbalandcognitiveverbalprocesses,materializedthroughanactivevoice(style).Whileshedidthis,she

wouldoftensoftendirectpointsaboutWhitepeopleparticipatinginracismbyshiftingeyecontactacrossmembersof

herbookgroupandbyusingasoftenedtoneofvoice.

Wealsomadeachartofallofthesemioticresourcesthateachindividualwithinthegroupused.Forexample,for

eachparticipant,wemadeachartfor“genre,”“discourse,”and“style”andthenlistedtherangeofvariationwithin

eachmode.Thisallowedustotracepatternswithinandacrossparticipants,lookingwithinandacrossthemodes.

Wecould,forexample,getabetterunderstandingofthedifferencesbetweenJennaandTodd’suseofgenresor

styles.ItwasherethatwenoticedthatwhileJennadidnothavemanyturnsinthediscussions,shediddrawonmany

differentgenresinthebookclubs.Thislevelofanalysisalsoallowedustoseechangesinhowparticipantsused

themodesacrossthediscussions.Afteridentifyingclustersofgenres,discourseandstylewerecontetxualizedthis

levelofanalysiswithinthebroaderdatasetandourunderstandingofeachparticipantwithintheyearlongresearch

project.

4.Anti-racism:talkisactionoraction,nottalk?

OneofFaye’smajorcritiquesaboutIggie’sHouse(Blume,1975)thatemergedfromthebookclubdiscussionwas

that“nothinghappened.”Inthebook,TheGarbers,aBlackfamily,buyahomeina“lovely”neighborhoodinthe

suburbsofNewJersey,ndon,aWhitewoman,whocirculatesapetitionagainsttheGarbersand

putsa“goaway”signintheGarber’syard.InajournalonApril12,Fayewrotethefollowing,“Itseemstomethat

nothingwassolvedinthisbook.Itwasjustastoryabouta12-year-oldWhitegirlandher1–2-weekencounterwith

thenewNegroneighbors,orcoloredpeopleastheywerereferredtobytheotherWhitecharactersinthestory,and

howtheir‘coloredness’affectedthelovelyneighborhoodonGroveStreet.”

Chelsey,aWhitewomaninthegroup,challengesFaye’sperspectivethat“nothinghappened”inthebook,arguingthat

anumberofactionsoccurred.Chelseyusesthefollowingevidencetoconstructherargument.ShementionsWinnie’s

surveyofthecommunity’sattitudestowardstheGarbers;Winnie’sparents’discussionofracism;theLandons’move

outofthecommunitywhichdemonstratedthattheylostthebattlewithracisminthecommunity;andthefactthat

Blumewrotethebookascommunitieswerebeingdesegregatedfollowingthecivilrightsmovementwhichmeantthat

writingthebookitselfcouldbeviewedasaformofsocialaction.Thediscourseaboutanti-racismhere,isthatthe

actionsofanti-racismcanoccurthroughtalking,thinkingandrelatingtopeopleincertainwaysandlearning—actions

thathavetraditionallyconsideredtobeinthecognitiveratherthanmaterialdomain.Faye,ontheotherhand,looksfor

evidenceofmaterialchangestodetermineifanti-racismispresent.

Faye,Jenna,andChelseydiscussedthequestionofwhetheranythinghappenedinthebookduringtheir rstbook

clubmeeting.Toddwasabsentfromclass.Jennabeginsthebookclubbeginsbymakingapersonalconnectiontothe

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R.Rogers,M.Mosley/LinguisticsandEducation19(2008)107–131117

textandthemaincharacter,“IfeellikeIam[...]thislittlegirl.”Then,Jennaoffersanexplanationforheraf nitywith

Winnie.2

(9)Well,(10)becauseIfeellike,um,Jennalooksinsideofthebookandholdsthebookuptochestlevel.

(12)whenshewhenshetalksaboutlike,likeum,ok,(13)whenshetalksaboutthings(14)likepeoplearen’t

supportingher,ShelooksatFaye.(15)whenshehastheseideas(16)andthey’renotthesameasherparents,(17)

Ifeellikethatsituation(18)isreallysimilartomesometimes(19)ifItrytotalktomyparentsJenna’shands

areopenonthetableinametaphoricgesture,outstretched,bookisinonehand,hergazeisonthetable.(20)

orlikefriends,(21)likethataren’tintheeducationprogram(22)aboutdifferentlikesocialjusticetypethings,

Sheshrugsshoulders,squintseyesslightlyandnodsheadinabeatgesturebackandforthtocomplimenther

message.(23)theydon’treallyunderstandit.(24)Especially,likeIrememberreading,(25)whenDr.Rogers

readit[asectionofIggie’sHousealoud],Index ngerpointsupwardasifshehasjusthadanidea.(26)Ifelt

like(27)‘oh,Ifeellikewe’realike,’Beatheadnods,smile,bookisstandinguponthetable,cradledbetween

hertwohands.(28)youknow,soLooksdownattable,7secondpause.

Jennaexplainsthatsheandthecharacterinthebookengagewith,“socialjusticetypethings”andmostpeoplein

herlife“don’treallyunderstandit.”ForJenna,“socialjusticetypethings”arede nedbyverbal,mentalandrelational

verbs;forexample,verbal(e.g.lines11,13,19“talks”),mental/cognitive(e.g.line15“ideas,”line23“understand,”

andline24“remember”)andrelational(e.g.line14“supporting”andline27“feel”).Here,Jennadiscussesanti-racism

ascarriedoutthroughtalkandfeelingsandoccurringmainlyinthepsychological/individualrealm.Thereisanotable

absenceofmaterialverbsinthisexcerptofJenna’stalk.Alsoimportanttonoteisthatinherexplanation,anti-racism

isanunmarkedterm.Shereferstoanti-racistactionsas,“socialjusticetypethings”andusesdistancingpronouns

suchas“theseideas.”Shetakesastance,identifyingherselfwiththemaincharacterwho,shebelieves,engageswith

anti-racism.

FayequestionsthelimitsofJenna’sidenti cationwithWinnie.FayelooksdownatthebookintentlyandJenna

leansforwardtowardFaye,gazingatFaye’sbook.

(29)Faye:Ithinkthat’sinteresting.(30)Fayelooksdownatherbook.Um,IthinkIcanseehow(31)maybe

youcouldfeelthat,thenlooksatJennaandsoftenshertone.(32)butIdidn’tfeelthatatallHerheadmoves

backandforthtocomplimentwhatsheissaying.

(33)Jenna:Youdidn’t?Whatdidyoufeelfromthebook?Hergazeislow.

(34)Ide nitelydidn’tfeellikeIwasinthebook.

(35)Jenna:Whatdidyoufeellike?

Thetoneofvoiceraises.

(36)Faye:Thislittle,thisbookmademeupsetThetoneofherofvoiceraises.(37)Idon’tliketoreadbooks

(36)wherenothinghappens.

(38)Jenna:ohhhhhJenna’smouthopenswide,eyebrowsraise,eyesgetwide,shiftsgazefromthetabletoFaye.

(39)Faye:Well,ok.

(40)Jenna:No,Idon’tcare,Idon’tcareHerheadmovesbackandforthtocomplimentwhatsheissaying.

Inthisinteraction,Fayeusesacommoninteractionalmoveforherwhichisthe“Ithinkthat’sinteresting...but”

construction.Thismovefunctionstokeeptheconversationmovingforward,evenwhenshedoesnotagreewithothers

inthebookclub.JennainsiststhatshewantstohearFaye’sperspectiveonthebook,askinghertwice“Whatdidyou

feel?”(lines33and35).Fayesharesherviewpoint“Idon’tliketoreadbookswherenothinghappens”(line36).Jenna’s

Throughoutthearticle,wehavechosentorepresentthetranscripts,brokenintowhatGee(2006)referstoas“idealizedlines”inaparagraph

format.Eachidealizedlineincludesthenonverbalsthatmadeuptheinteraction.Wehaverepresentedtheverbalin12-pointfontandthenonverbal

initalicsandin10.5fontsothereadercoulddistinguishbetweentheverbalandnonverbalsembeddedwithinthetranscripts.Wetranscribedthe

verbalandnonverbalcomponentsofthediscussion.Assuch,thetranscriptisamultilayeredrecordofthediscourseinthegroup.Onecanreadthe

verbal,thenonverbalorbothmodestogether.2

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118R.Rogers,M.Mosley/LinguisticsandEducation19(2008)107–131

long,“ohhhhh”causesFayetopauseandslightlybacktracksaying,“well,ok.”Jenna,inthenextturn,assuresFaye

thatshewantstohearhercritiquebyrepeatingthestatement,“Idon’tcare”withcomplimentaryheadmovements.

Fayecontinueswithhercritiquefocusedonthelackofactioninthebook.Atthismoment,theparticipantsseemto

agreetoexplorethegroup’sdivergentviewpointstogether.

Afterthissetofinteractions,theinteractionalpatternchangesandJenna,usuallyaverballyactiveparticipantin

classdiscussions,islesstalkativeintheremainderofthebookclubdiscussion.Ifweweretolookonlyattheverbal

discourse,wemightcometotheconclusionthatJennawasdisengagedwiththediscussion.However,hernonverbal

languageshowsthatsheisstillengaged.Forexample,inthisinteraction,Jenna,whowasseatedslightlyturnedaway

fromFaye,pushesherchairbackandre-crossesherlegssothatherentirebodyhasshiftedmoredirectlytoward

Faye.ThismoveisinthemiddleofFaye’scritiqueofherposition.Thisisachangeinaf liationatboththelevel

oftalkandthepositioningofthebodysignalsopennesstohearingFaye’sinterpretation.Further,Jenna’sturntaking

structurerevealsthatshestillhasalmosthalfoftheturnsinthediscussionbuthalfoftheseturnsareprimarilyused

forco-constructingandagreement(e.g.theuseof“mmmhmmm”).

Fayeintroducesacentralcritiqueofthebook,whatsheseeasaprivilegingeffect,whichoperateswhenWhite

peoplereframeracism(andmeasurestoredressracism)inamannerthatprivilegesthefeelingsofWhitepeopleatthe

expenseofthematerialrealitiesofpeopleofcolor.Faye’spointisthattheAfrican-Americanvoicesaredeliberately

mutedinordertofacilitatetheexpressionofWinnie’sissuesandemotions.Shestates:

(72)Faye:Likeyoudidn’thearvoicesofum,theGarbers,reallyShelooksstraightahead,thenlookstoJenna.

(73)Andthat

(74)[Jenna:ohhh,mmmSheputsherhandtohermouth,andrubsherface.]

(75)Faye:Thatmademeupset(76)becauseit’sallabout,(77)thiswholeissue(78)iscenteredaroundthem,

Fayelooksdownandmakescircleswithherpenonhernotebook.(79)butthefocusofthebook(80)isWinnie.

Fayemakesalinewithherpenandslightlydropsherchin.

(81)Jenna:[mmmShedropsherhandtotable.]

(82)Faye:andshedoesn’tdoanything.(83)She’sjustgoingthroughemotionsHerhandopenshandupward.

(84)andso...

Inthebook,Winnie’sstruggletotalkwiththeadultsinherlifeaboutracismisexactlythepointthatJennaidenti ed

with.FayedoesnotrecognizeWinnie’sWhiteracialidentitydevelopmentifitremainsinthemental,cognitiveand

emotionalrealmsratherthanmoveintothematerialrealmofanti-racism.Thisisespeciallythecaseifitcomesat

thecostofmutingtheAfrican-Americanvoicesinthebook.Inthisexcerpt,Fayecallsonarangeofverbstomake

herpoint:mental/material(e.g.line72“hear”),affective/relational(e.g.line75“upset”andline83“goingthrough

emotions”)andmaterial(e.g.line82“doanything”).WhileFayemovesbetweenverbalprocesses,herpointaboutthe

dividebetweentalkandactionisunderlinedbyherrepetitionofthisargumentandthemultiplegenres(e.g.narrative,

comedy,etc.),providinganexampleofhow“nothinghappened”(line72)toexecutethepoint.

Next,FayearguesthatbecauseWinnieisachildshedoesnothavemuchagency.Shestated“...itdidn’tmatter

whatshewantedtosay,orwhatshewantedtohappen,itdidn’thappen.”Inthisframe,Jennaislookingintentlyat

Faye.Fayecontinued,“andlikeshecouldn’treallysay,you’renotgoingtotellyourparentsoff.”Inthebook,Winnie’s

motherlearnspeoplearemovingintotheemptyhouseintheirneighborhood.ShetellsWinnieshewillmakethenew

neighborsbrownies.Whenshe ndsoutthefamilyisAfrican-American,she“forgets”tobakethebrownies.Faye

drawsonthisexcerptfromthebookandcreateswhatFayeseesasanunrealisticscenariowhereWinniedirectly

confrontshermother’sracism.

(61)Faye:You’renotgoingtosay,(62)‘Mom,Iknowyoudidn’tforget(63)tobakethosebrownies,Faye’s

headistilted,hergazeisonJenna,Jennanods.(64)areyouplayin’?Faye’shandopensslightly.

(65)Jenna:Yeahreally.Jennalaughs.Yeah.Faye’stoneissarcastic.

(66)Faye:‘Areyouracist?’Faye’shandopensupwardsandsheleansforward.(67)You’renotgoingtosay(68)

anythinglikethat.(69)ItjustseemslikeFayeleansbackinherchair(70)shewaslearningalottoo,andshe

makesaslightchinnodtoJenna.JennaisgazingdirectlyatFaye.(71)soIguessifIwaslike,12,Fayelooks

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R.Rogers,M.Mosley/LinguisticsandEducation19(2008)107–131119

downatthetable(72)Iwouldbelike,(73)‘oh,thisisgreat’andher ngerpointstowardstable.(74)but,at

thisage,(75)I’mjustlike,(76)nothinghappenedFayeopensherhand.(77)Likeitjustfrustratesme.

InFaye’s ctionalencounter,Winnieinterruptshermother’spassiveracismwithadirectconfrontation,naming

racism,“Iknowyoudidn’tforgettobakethosebrownies,areyouplayin?...Areyouracist?”Atthewordracist,

Fayeleansforward,addingemphasistoherstatement.Faye’spointhereisthatBlumehaschosenacharacter,thatby

virtueofbeingachildislackingagencyandthereforeisnotabletodirectlyconfrontracismthroughhertalk.Inthis

excerptwealsohearashiftinFaye’sunderstandingoftheboundariesofanti-racism.Thatis,whileshemaintainsthat

nothinghappenedinthebook,shedoesindicatethat“she[Winnie]waslearningalot,too”—astatementthatopensthe

possibilitythatlearningaboutracismandanti-racismmightbeconsideredactions.Similarly,laterintheconversation

shestates,“she’slikeagrowingactivistbutshecan’tdoanythingrightnow.”

5.AmultimodalcritiqueofIggie’sHouse

Aweeklater,Chelsey,Faye,Jenna,andToddreturntotheirdiscussionofwhetheranythingwassolvedinthebook.

Theirfocusshiftsfromthecharacters’actionstotheresponsibilityoftheauthoranddesignersofthebookcovers.

FayearguesthatBlumepresentssuper cialandstereotypicalrepresentationsoftheAfrican-Americanpeopleinthe

book.Chelsey,ontheotherhand,thinksBlumehadlimitationsasanauthorstating,“itwaswrittenbyaWhitelady

inthe60’s...soevenifshehadtriedtoconveysomething,Ifeellikeitwouldn’thavebeenverygood.”Fayeand

JennabothagreethatBlumehassocialresponsibilitiesasawriterandthatsheshouldhavedoneresearchtocreate

moredescriptiveAfrican-Americancharacters.FayewishesBlumehadwrittenadifferentbook—abookinwhichthe

protagonistcouldbecalledontoactivelytakeonracismandwherematerialconditionswouldhavechanged.Jenna

offersanalternativeexplanation,drawingonthesocio-historicaltimeframeofthe1970sthat“maybeshe[Blume]

couldnothavewrittentheendingshewanted...Thatwouldbelikepredictingthefuture,almost.”

AsJennaspeaks,Faye’sgazelingersforseveralsecondsonthecoverofJenna’sbook,sittingonthetable,midway

betweenthem.ShechangestheconversationbyinitiatingamultimodalanalysisofthecoverofIggie’sHouse.

(199)WhatI ndinterestingFayeislookingatJenna’sbookcoverandbeginstoreachovertothebook.(200)

isthatthecoverShepicksupthebookandholdsthebookup,stillconnectedtothetable,turnsthebookaround

andlooksatthecoveroverthebook.Atthesametime,Chelseypicksupherbookandbeginstoopenthecover

ofthebook.(201)thattheyreproduced(202)inthe80’sorthe90’s...(203)hasyourFayepauses,andhereye

focusstaysonthebookhervoicesoftens.typicalWhitegirlShebringsthebookcovertofacethegroup.Her

gazestayssteadyonthecoverofthebook.(204)andyourposterBlackchildrenSherotatesthebookandhas

itinmid-airmovingitclosertoJenna’sdirection.Hergazeriseswhenshesays,“yourposterBlackchildren,”

lookingatJenna rstandthenToddwithafurrowedbrow.Sheplacesthebookonthetable,pushingittoward

Jenna.(205)andeverybodyisjustreallyhappy(206)andthatisnotSheshakesherheadbackandforth“no”

andhershouldersshrugsinsynch.(207)whathappensinthestory,thoughHergazeisdownatthebookthatis

sittingonthetable.(208)Jenna:Right.(209)Itseemsliketheycouldhave(210)beenreallygoodfriends(211)

butthatpictureJennaholdsbookupandexaminesthecoverofthebook.(212)isnotindicative(213)ofwhat

wasgoingon(214)inthestory.Thereisafoursecondsilencefromthegroup.Jennaturnsthebookaroundand

isstudyingthebackofthebook.

Eachmemberofthegrouphasadifferentbookcover.Thebookhasbeenreprintedseveraltimes(1970,1986,and

2001)andeachneweditionhasadifferentbookcover.

ThebookcoverFayeanalyzesfeaturesaphotographofthethreechildreninthebook,asopposedtotheothertwo

thatpresentchild-likedrawings.Thechildren lltheentirecover,withWinnie,theyoungWhiteprotagonist,inthe

center,gazingatthereader/viewer.Sheisleaning,withapleasantfamiliarity,overtheyoungerchild.Thisphotoevokes

theimageofcaringsiblings.BehindherareHerbieandGlennwhosefacesarecut-offfromview.Allofthechildren

aregazingatthereader/viewerandhavesmilesontheirfaces,suggestinganinter-racialfriendship.Unliketheother

bookcovers,imagesthatsuggesttroubledracialrelationshipsarenotrepresented.

Fayepauses,hereyesstayfocusedonthebookcoverandhertonesoftens.PerhapssheisawareoftwoWhite

women’spresenceinthegroupandherownstereotypicalcommentsasshesays,“typicalWhitegirl.”Again,inthe

lastmeetingofthebookclub,Jennastronglyidenti edwithWinniesaying,“IalmostfeellikeIamthislittlegirl.”

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Fayerotatesthebooksoothersinthegroupcanseeitandhasitmid-airmovingitclosertoJenna.Hergazerisesto

look rstatJennaandthenatToddandshesays,“andyourposterBlackchildren.”Inthepicture,thechildrenwhoare

BlackframetheimageofagirlwhoisWhite,andtheyareallsmilingattheviewer.Theironicnatureofthestatement

isreinforcedbyFaye’sfurrowedbrow.SheplacesthebookbackonthetableandpushesittowardJennawhileshe

shakesherheadbackandforth,gesturing“no,”hershouldersshrugginginsynchwiththemovementofherheadasshe

says,“andeverybodyisjustreallyhappyandthatisnotwhathappensinthestory,though.”Faye’swordsandgestures

worktogethertoillustratehercriticalanalysisofthedisjuncturebetweenthetextandtheillustration.Theimages

metaphoricallyrepresentherpoint:thereisoftenadisjuncturebetweenwhatWhitepeoplesayandwhattheydo.

Chelseydiscursivelypiggybacksonthismultimodalanalysis,stating,“Ithinkthiscoverisinteresting.”Hercorre-

spondingactionsofopeningthecoverofherbookandturningthebookaroundtoshowthemembersofhergroupthe

illustrationinsidecaptureshercolleagues’attention.Afterafewmoments,bothFayeandJennaleanintoexamine

thepicturemorecarefully,indicatingtheirjointengagementwiththebook.Whilethisversionofthecoverincludes

wordsandimagesthatsuggesttroubledracialrelationships,thereader/viewerneedstoopenthebrightredfrontcover

ofthebooktoseetheseimages.Thus,thereaderis‘protected’fromracialdiscoursesontheoutsideofthebook.

Theillustrationiscomposedthroughthemediumofwatercolors/paint,givingtheimagealess“real”feelingthanthe

photograph.Thecoverhasanarrativedensitytoit—withthemodesofspace,color,proximity,artifactsallworking

togethertocreatethemeaningoftheillustration.Thereader/viewercannotseethedetailsofthecharacters’facial

expressionsbecauseoftheirpositiononthepage.

FayeandJennaleanacrossthetable,towardChelseyandthebookcoverbeingdisplayed.Chelseyprovidesa

descriptionofherillustrationandFayeasksher,“Whatdoyouthinkthatsays?”Faye’sinvitationtoChelsey,along

withherinitiationofamultimodalanalysisofhercover,providesaspaceforChelseytodemonstratethatshe,too,

caninterpretthepositionsandideologiesofthecoverartistsfromacriticalperspective.Sheaccomplishesthiscritique

intheexcerptbelowthroughaseriesofmodalities—herwords,hertoneofvoice,andhergestures(bothiconicand

metaphoric),allofwhichindicatehercritiqueoftheperspectivepresentedinthebook.Chelseystates

Ifeellike,(230)Imean,theBlackkidChelsey’sgestureinthisstillframestaysclosetotheillustrationasshe

talksabouttheBlackkidintheillustration.Hergazestaysfocusedonthebookinfrontofher.(231)wasinthe

blackandwhiteside,(232)wellok,(233)soWinnietheWhitegirlHerlefthandopensupandextendstoher

leftshoulderinabroad,widestroke.(234)isinthecolors(235)andeverythingisallcolorfulandprettyHer

handsarebroad,open,andextended.(236)likeinthebookwithjusttheWhitepeople(237)anditwasall(238)

colorfulandpretty(239)andthentheBlackpeoplecamealong(240)andthenitislike(241)blackandwhite

Chelsey’svoicegetssharp,directed,hertonechanges,andherhandmakesupanddownbeatgestures.(242)

likeittookoutalloftheprettiness(243)oratleastthatiswhatLandon(244)wastryingtopointout,(245)black

andwhite.(246)Blackisbad,so.

Chesley’sanalysisfocusesonthedisjunctureoralignmentbetweenthevisuallyandlinguisticallyrenderedideas

(thoseonthecoverandthosewritteninthebook).Throughadescriptivereadingofthevisualandlinguisticideasin

thebookaswellasherowngestures(whichaddemphasistoherpoint)shecritiquesthenarrowrepresentationofthe

racializedidentitiesofferedinthebook.Forinstance,whenChelseystates,“So,WinnietheWhitegirlisinthecolors

andeverythingisallcolorfulandpretty,”shepointsouttherepresentationofwhitenessinthewatercolorpictureonthe

insideofthiscover.Inthisimage,Winnie’sbikeissetagainstacolorfulbackground,whereastheBlackmalecharacter

isdrawningrayscale.ItappearsasifthecolorfulbackgroundisfollowingWinnie.Thesideofthepicturethatisin

grayscalematchesthesignthatreads,“GOBackwhereYoubelong...”

Inadditiontopointingoutthecoverartist’schoiceswithcolorandpositioning,Chelseyusesherwords,toneof

voiceandgesturestoemphasizehercritiqueoftherepresentation.Whenshereferstowhiteness,shemakeametaphoric

gesture,tryingtogiveanabstractideaashapethatisdepictedasopenandexpansive,handwide,openandextended

infrontofher.Whenshedescribestheothersideoftheillustration,ontheotherhand,hertoneofvoicechanges,as

dohergestures.“TheBlackpeoplecamealongandthenitislikeblackandwhite.”Here,hergesturesstayclosetothe

pictureandherhandisopenbut ngersarepressedtightlytogether.Thesharpnessinhervoiceemphasizedthrough

beatgestureswithherhandmightbereadasemphasizingherobjectiontotherepresentationintheillustration.When

shetalksaboutthepictures,Chelsey’sgazeshiftsfromFaye,toJenna,toToddandbacktothebook.

Chelsey’son-the-spotthinkingandgesturesrevealthemetaphorssheuncoversinthecoverdesign.Hermetaphoric

gestureofwhitenesscorrespondswiththediscoursesheseesinthecoverillustration,thatwhitenessisaninvisible

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R.Rogers,M.Mosley/LinguisticsandEducation19(2008)107–131121

racializedidentity—itjust“is.”Blackness,ontheotherhand,isconcrete,canbepointedto–isconsideredbythe

coverartisttobe“racialized”–andshedenotesthisdiscoursethroughasharptoneandpointedhandgesturesthat

stayclosetothebook.Throughhermultimodalanalysis,sheevokestheracialimaginationwhichconceivesofrace

throughrigid“Black”and“White”binaries—re-inscribingthesocialvaluesattachedtocolor,namelythatwhiteness

equalscolorfulandprettyand“blackisbad”(Bell,2004;Morrison,1992).Hercritiquefunctionstomakethepoint

thattheauthor/coverartistcarriedoutlinguisticandmetonymicviolenceagainstthepeopleofcolorinthebookand

atthetable(Morrison,1992).

Fayepicksuponthisanalysis,co-constructingacritiquewithChelsey,“Iwouldkindofagreewithwhatyouare

saying”andthenaddsanadditionallayertothisinterpretation—onethatfocusesonthesocialrelationshipsofrace

andwhiteprivilegeratherthanraceasasinglecharacteristic.Shestates,

(244)Faye:ButontheblackandwhitesideFaye’srighthandgesturestotheillustration.Herhandopensandshe

pointstotheothersideoftheillustrationwithaniconicgesture.Hergazeisontheillustration.(245)everything

isblackandwhiteintheirlives(246)it’sallracial.ShelooksupatChelseyandtheymakeeyecontact.Herhand

is ippedover,onthetable,palmupwardasshe nishesherthought.

(247)Jenna:Uh-huh.

(248)Faye:Sheshakesherheadslightlyandhergazeisontheillustration.But,Winnie,shehas(249)she

doesn’thavetodealwithraceHerhandopensinfrontofherandmovesinfrontofherfaceinametaphoric

gesture.(250)SoshejustseesallofthebeautifulcolorsHergestureisinitsmostextendedstroke,completely

openand ngersextendedinfrontofher.Herfacialexpressionmatcheshergesture.(251)andsheisnothing

everbothersher.

(252)Todd:Good.ChelseylookstoTodd.Sheisnoddingherhead.

(253)Chelsey:Goodpoint.Chelseynodsherheadinbeatgestures.

(254)Faye:SheislivingacarefreelifeFaye’sgazeisonthebook.(255)andhehastoChelseyturnsthebook

aroundtoshowthecamera,thereislaughterfromthegroup,whileFayeisinmid-sentence.(256)Sheisliving

acarefreelifeFaye’sgazeisonthebook(257)andsheisdoingwhateversheneedstodoandremainsonthe

book,asshemakesapointinggesturewithherhand.(258)buttheyhavetodealwithracismHergazeremains

onthebook,asshebringsacrackertoherlips.(259)andeverythinginblackandwhite.Jennaisintheframe

proppingherheaduponherwristandleaningin.

Fayemovesthediscussionawayfromadiscussionoftheinvisibilityofwhiteness/theracializationofpeopleofcolor

toaninterpretationthatfocusesonwhiteprivilegeandpeopleofcolorhavingtodotheworkofracismandanti-racism.

ToddandChelseybothverballyandnonverballysignifytheyareinagreementwithFaye’sinterpretation,perhaps

indicatingfurtherco-constructionoftheideaofrace,racismandanti-racismassociallyandhistoricallyconstructed.

Together,ChelseyandFayedemonstratethatracismcanbeperpetuatedthrougharangeofverbal,nonverbaland

visualmicro-aggressions.Thereisagreatamountofhopefulnessinthissetofinteractionsastheytaketurnsreading

thespatiallayout,thecolorscheme,theproximityandlayeringacrossthethreebookcovers.Themultiplemodalities

andnonverbalmovestheyinvokeallowtheconversationtocontinue.

Fayecontinuesinthediscussionandinherwrittenworktostrugglewiththeworkthatthepeopleofcolordoto

dismantleracismbothinthechildren’sbooksandintheirclassdiscussions.However,perhapsbecauseofinteractions

withherclassmatessuchasthese,shebecamemoreopentotheracialliteracyworkofthegroup.Fayewrotethe

followinginherjournalinresponsetoanarticlecalled“Gentledoesofracism:Whitenessinchildren’sliterature”

writtenbyFondrie(2001).

IunderstandthatchangeisnotgoingtohappenunlessWhitepeoplework,too,butisitnecessaryforbooks

toexistwhereWhitepeoplearepositionedasthemaincharacter?Don’tthesebookssilencethevoicesofthe

oppressed?At rstread,Ifelttheauthor’ssentimentswerethepolaroppositesofmyown.Fondrie(2001)states,

“Ialwaysplacetheburdenofactingorspeakingonthecharacterswhorepresentothergroups.Theyaretheones

whomustactandspeakandthinkappropriatelyinmyestimation.”Then,Irealizedsomethinginteresting...I

havebeendoingthesamething!Icriticizesocietyforplacingtheburdenofracismonpeopleofcolor,yetIalso

criticizebookslikeIggie’sHouseforattemptingtoshiftsomeoftheburdentoWhitepeopleandhowtheydeal

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122R.Rogers,M.Mosley/LinguisticsandEducation19(2008)107–131

withracism.IrealizethatIhaveissuesthatIneedtosortoutabouthowIfeelaboutdiscussionsandliterature

centeredonwhiteness,whiteprivilegeandWhitealliesbeforeImakeaconclusionaboutthevalidityofthese

topics.Ihavetocometounderstandingonthesigni canceofeachofthesetopicsindiscussionsonracialissues

andwhetherornotIfeelthattheyarenecessaryandhelpfulorjustanotherindirecttoolofoppression.

Inthisjournal,Fayeevokesthematerialityofanti-racismthroughherchoiceofthelinguisticunits“burden”and

“dealwith.”Inare exivemove,sherecognizeshowhercritiqueoftheWhitecharactersinIggie’sHouseminimized

theanti-racisteffortsofotherWhiteauthorsandofherWhitecolleagueswhoaretryingtoenterintotheworkofanti-

racism.Fayeseemstoberecognizingthat,forWhitepeople,astagein“dealingwithracism”maybesynonymouswith

talkingaboutracismandanti-racism.Sheisleftwonderingaboutthepossibilitiesandtheconstraintsofdiscussions

andliteratureinthestruggleforanti-racism,apointwereturntointheconclusion.

6.Racisminthepresentday

Often,studentswhoarenewtodiscussionsofracismandanti-racismperpetuatethediscoursethatracismdoesnot

existtoday,insteadisathingofthepast(Bell,2004;Shapiro,2004).Thebookthatthisgroupread,Iggie’sHouse,

waswrittenin1970,andreadingabookwritten25yearsinthepastmayhaveperpetuatedthisdiscourse.During

theconversation,JennaandChelseyhistoricizethebook,postulatingthattheauthordidthebestshecouldatthe

time.ToddandFaye,however,bothbringracismtothepresentdayintheirconversation.Fayecontinuesherearlier

critique,thatthebookdidnothavestrongactionorsolveanything.However,sheextendsthiscritiquebypointing

outhowracismoccursthroughredliningpracticesandwhite ight.Thisthemebecamepartofthesecondbookclub

discussion.

AfterthebookclubconductedtheirmultimodalanalysisofthetwocoversofIggie’sHouse,FayeturnstoTodd

whohasbeenvirtuallysilentthroughthediscussion,forthesecondtimetryingtopullhimin,asaWhiteman,into

thediscussionaboutracismandanti-racismandasks,“Whatisthedrawingonyourbook,Todd?”Toddliftsthefront

ofhisbookand ipsthebookaroundsothegroupcanseethecoverdesignedin1970.Thereisabigsignonthecover

ofthebookthatreads“GOBACKTOWHEREYOUBELONG.”Itisthesamewordingasthesigninthe2001book.

The1970coverstandsinsharpcontrasttothe1983cover,whichhighlightstheauthor’snameoverthetitleofthe

book.ThecolorsaremoremutedthantheothertwocoversandthepicturedepictsIggie’shouse,whichhasbecomethe

Garberhouse.Thesignisintheforegroundofthispicture,whereasinthe2001versionthesignisplacedinawaythat

itissecondarytotheimage.Therearenopeoplepresentinthe1970cover,andthereforetheillustrationforegrounds

thesymbolofthesignandtheracistact.

Inadirectmanner,Fayesetsupa ctionalencounterforToddanddrawsontheracistsigninversionofthebook.

Sheasks,“Whatwouldyoudoifsomeoneputasignlikethatinyouryard?Youwouldneverexpectsomeonetodo

somethinglikethatright?”JennaandToddbothrespondatthesametime,“No!”Then,Fayepressesandasks,“How

come?Whatifyoumovedintoanall-Blackneighborhood.Doyouthinksomeonewoulddothattoyou?”

Faye’squestionscallonmaterialverbssuchas“moved”“dothattoyou”and“putasign”asshelocatesracismin

thephysicalworld.Toddrespondswithanargumentusingverbsthatlocateracismasasetofphysicalandmaterial

processes.ToddquicklysteerstheconversationawayfromFaye’squestion,whichaskshimtomakeaconnectionwith

thebookasareaderandargues“therearecertainplacesinthiscountrywheresomepeoplejustcan’tlive”(line347):

(344)IthinkthatitallgoesbacktoToddplaceshishandonhisforehead,thenextendsitoutwards,(345)then

placeshishandonthecoverofthebook.HisgazeisdirectlyatFaye.Jenna’sgazeisdownatthetable.Faye

takesadrink.ChelseyislookingatTodd.Imean//Todd’s ngertapsonthebook.therearecertainplaces(346)

inthiscountryHisgazeisonFaye.(347)wheresomepeoplejustcan’tliveChelseynodsslightly.Jennalooksat

thetable.(348)becauseoftheracistissues(349)thatstillexist.Toddmakesabeatgestureonthebook.Jenna

nodsslightly.(350)ThereisatowninArkansas(351)whereBlackpeoplearenotallowed.HegazesatFaye.

(352)Faye:There’satown(353)inalmosteverystate(354)whereBlackpeople(355)arenotallowedFaye

laughsslightlyandoverlapswithline356.

(356)Todd:Blackpeople.Blackpeople.Iknow.ToddlooksdirectlyatFaye,armscrossedwithaseriouslook

(357)IfBlackpeoplegothereThetempoofhistalkincreases.(358)theygetkilled.

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(360)Faye:IbelieveyouShespeakssoftly,withherhandonherface,andhergazeshiftsdownward,bodyleans

forward.Fayepicksupapencilandbeginstowriteinhernotebook.

Here,Toddisdrawingonthephysical,materialrealityofwherepeoplecanlive,explainingthisrealityasjust

thewaythingsare.Heidenti esashavinginsightabouttheeffectsofracismonpeopleofcolor,co-constructingthe

notionthatracismexistsinthepresentday.Healsoacknowledgesthephysicaldimensionofracismstating,“ifBlack

peoplegothere,theygetkilled”(lines357–358).Todd’sexplanationcallsonadiscourseofracismasgeographically

basedcoupledwithapassiveconstructionthatfailstonameWhitepeopleastheactorsinviolenceagainstpeopleof

color.Hisstatementalsonaturalizesthesubjugatedpositionofpeopleofcolorandtheexistenceofracismandwhite

privilege,perpetuatingtheideathattheprivilegedstatusofWhitepeopleisdeservedratherthangrantedbylawand

tradition(Bell,2004).

Faye’sbodyandgazeshiftdownwardandcloseasToddistalking—shealmostimmediatelylooksdownather

notebookandbeginstowrite.Toddhashisarmscrossedinfrontofhischestandhecontinuestoexplainthethought

patternsandbeliefsofracistpeople.“Andthatisanawfulthingandthereareplaceslikethatwheresomepeoplejust

can’tgo...Ican’tthinkofaplacewhereIwouldgowhereIwouldeitherhavemylifethreatenedorIwouldgeta

signlikethisinmyfrontyard.”Jenna’sdiscomfortcanalsobereadasshebringsherhandtoherfaceinanervous

reactiontoTodd’spoint.ShecreatesabreakintheuneasinessbyofferingpossibilitiesofwhenToddmighthavehislife

threatened.Shenotesthathewouldbethreatenedifhe“wasdisruptingpowerrelationshipsorwasovertlyanti-racist

oranti-patriotic.”Jenna’sturnseemstoofferFayeanotherwayintotheconversation.Lookingupfromhernotebook,

Fayestates,

(368)No,wewerejustsayingthatHerhandrestsonherchin,hergazeisdownward.(369)becauseyouarea

Whiteman(370)youareinaposition(371)sothatyoucantravelthroughHerhandmakesasmoothmovement.

(372)manydifferentspaces(373)inthisworldHergazeistowardsTodd,andToddlooksdownward.(374)

withoutfeelingthreatenedatallhandmakesbeatgesture,gazeisintent(375)Andthisisaprivilege,Hervoice

raisesslightly.(376)That’spartofwhiteprivilege.

FayeasksToddtounderstandhisprivilegeinlightofthematerialandphysicalexperiencesofpeopleofcolor.As

shespeaks,hertoneissoftenedandherarmisoutstretchedonthetable.Sheevokesadiscourseofwhiteprivilegeand

directlyconfrontsTodd.Shecallsonmaterialandphysicalverbs(e.g.line371“travel”andline374“threatened”)to

pointoutdangersthataremorethanrhetorical.Sherepeats,“thisisaprivilege”inlines375–376,perhapsemphasizing

forToddthatsheisrespondingtoaquestionheraisedinanearlierclasssession(“whatarealloftheexamplesof

whiteprivilege?”)( eldnotes,19February).Fayeneverdirectlyansweredhisquestion.Rather,shesupportsTodd’s

deepeningunderstandingofwhiteprivilegebyaskinghimaquestionabouthisexperiencesasaWhiteman.Fayethen

appliestheconstructofwhiteprivilegetohisexperience.InthismoveshehasprovidedasupportforToddtocometo

hisownunderstandingofwhiteprivilege.

AlthoughbothToddandFayefrequentlyusetheterm“racist”;Jennausestheonlyreferenceto“anti-racist”in

eitherbookclubconversation.Afewturnslater,Toddprovidesanexampleofracism,drawingonapersonalnarrative,

whichsuggestshehasexperiencewithracismandWhitepeoplewhoareunawareoftheirracism.

Todd:Alotofpeople(603)don’tevenknow(604)whattheyare.

(605)Faye:Exactly.(606)Becausetheyhaven’tbeen(607)exposedtoanything.

(608)Todd:IhavepeopleinmyfamilyToddsitsback,makesabeatgestureonthetable.(609)thattheyarenot

racist.(610)Theywilltelleveryone(611)theyarenotracistvoiceissofter.(612)Iwilltalk(613)tosomeof

mycousin’sfriends(614)wholiveinthislittleruraltown(615)andtheywillsay,(616)“nowe’renotracist”

Hisheadtiltsslightly.(617)butthenlateron(617)theywillsaysomething(618)andtheywillnotevenrealize

itHisgazeshiftstotheside.

Toddpointsoutseveralexamplesofwhiteprivilegeashehasobservedthemwithhisownfamilyandfriends.For

example,inlines603–611,Toddexplainsusingverbalandmentalverbprocesses,“alotofpeopledon’tevenknow

theyare”...“alotofpeoplewillsaytheyarenotracist.”LookingacrossTodd’stalk,heseemsmorelikelytolocate

discoursesaboutracisminthematerial,physicalrange(e.g.“placeswherepeoplecan’tlive”line347and“theyget

killed”line358)anddiscoursesofanti-racismintheverbal,mentalrange(e.g.“knowwhattheyare”“saytheyare

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124R.Rogers,M.Mosley/LinguisticsandEducation19(2008)107–131

notracist”lines603–611).Ashetalks,wecanhearthatheisdoingwork,too,asaWhiteperson,becauseassociating

withanti-racismmeansdisassociatingwithfamilyandfriends.Earlier,Toddnaturalizedanddistancedhimselffrom

thephysicaldimensionofracism(lines357–358),whereashere,hedrawsonapersonalexperience.Thissuggests

thatToddistryingoutdifferententrypointsintoaconversationaroundracism.Wegaininsightintotheimpactsof

racismonthosewhoperpetuateit,similartolearningaboutWinnie’sstruggleinthebook.AsBell(2004)remindsus,

thiscouldeasilyleadtoaprivilegingeffect.Inthemeantime,though,thisservesasanentrypointforToddintothe

discussionaroundthecontemporaryexistenceofracism.

7.Becomingraciallyliterate:theintersectionoftheindividualandthegroup

Whenwesatnexttoourstudentsduringthisbookclub,weheardandsawaspectsofracialliteracy.Wenoticed

participationstructures,discoursesofracismandanti-racismanddifferentpositionstaken.Butitwasnotuntilwetook

acloserlook,usingthetoolsofcriticaldiscourseanalysis,thatwereallyunderstoodthecomplexityofthesemiotic

tools,narrativesanddiscursivehistoriesthatwereusedthroughoutthebookclub.Wehavearguedthatracialliteracyis

evidentintheparticipants’waysofinteracting,waysofrepresentingandwaysofbeinginthebookclub;eachinfused

withverbalandnonverbalsemioticresourcesthateachparticipantbroughttothetable.

Atthegrouplevel,wenoticedanincreaseinmodaldensityasthestudentsworkedthroughadif cultideaortried

tounderstandanewposition.Theincreaseduseofgesturesorshiftinposturesignaledtheparticipants’needtocall

onadditionalsemioticresourcestomaketheirpoint.TheWhitestudentstendedtoforegroundmental,verbal,and

relationalverbprocesseswhentheytalkedaboutanti-racism.Fayearguedforanti-racismtobegroundedinaction,not

talkbutacloserexaminationoftheverbalprocessessheusedindicatedthatshe,too,drewondiscursive,relationaland

mentalverbs(andsomematerialandphysicalverbs)whenshediscussedanti-racism.Whenthestudentstalkedabout

racism,however,theyusedmaterialandphysicalverbalprocesses,indicatingamuchclearerlocationofracism(rather

thananti-racism)asmaterialandphysical.Thissuggeststheneedformoreexposure(forallstudents)toexamplesof

anti-racistactions.

Wehaveintentionallybroughtthegroup’sconstructionofmeaningtothesurfacethroughoutthisarticle.Atthis

point,however,weshiftourfocustothenetworksofgenre,discourseandstyleforindividualswithinthegroup.Such

networks(andchangesinthenetworks)areexamplesofwhatChouliarakiandFairclough(1999)call“resemiotization”

andareimportantbecausetheyrepresentlearning.Asweheardfromthegroupconversations,Toddparticipatedin

agroupdiscussionaroundrace,racismandanti-racismwhenprompted,buthiscontributions,atonepointintime,

evokedadiscourseofwhiteprivilegethatnaturalizedexplanationsforwhyracismexiststoday.Further,heexhibited

apatternofdeclarativestatements(genre)coupledwiththediscourseofracismandpassivesyntacticalconstruction

(style).Forexample,weheardToddsay,“therearejustsomeplaceswherepeoplecan’tlive”(line336).Thisstatement

naturalizesracismandabdicatesWhitepeoplefromresponsibilityversussaying“Whitepeopleandracistinstitutional

practicesmakeitimpossibleforBlackpeopletoliveinsomeneighborhoods”—astatementthatnamesresponsibility.

Todddoesevokethediscourseofracismasacontemporarysetofpracticesthroughouthisinteractionsinthebook

club.Wefoundthispromisingbecauseoften,Whitepeoplediscussracismasaproblemofthepast,asaresultofthe

civilrightsmovementandtheendofdejuresegregation(Bell,2004).Whenhetalksaboutracisminthepresentday,he

doessothroughpersonalnarratives(genre).Forexample,startinginline602,heusedapersonalnarrativethatevoked

twodiscourses—racismstillexistsandWhitepeoplearenotawareoftheirracism.Wefoundthisnarrativeabouthis

“cousin’sfriends”tobepromisingbecauseearlierinthesemesterhehadaskedFayeforanexampleofwhiteprivilege

whereashere,hegeneratesanexampleofwhiteprivilege,anaspectofracism,byhimself.

Throughoutthebookclubdiscussions,Fayedemonstratesagreatamountof exibilityinthevarietyofgenresshe

calledontofurtherhercritiqueofthebook.Forexample,shecalledon ctionalencounters,narrativesandmultimodal

analyses,tonamejustafew.Fayearguesforanti-racismasactionnottalk(discourse)butoftenusedverbal,mentaland

relationshipverbsratherthanactionverbstomakeherargument(style).OnepossibleinterpretationofthisisthatFaye

isactuallymoreopentoconsideringtalkasactionthansheexplicitlystates.WenoticedthatFaye uctuatedbetween

usingthepresentprogressiveconstruction“growingactivist”and“shelearnedalot”whichsuggestsanti-racismisa

setofprocessesthatislearnedandinvolvesacombinationoftalkandactiontocallingWinnie’sactions“awasteof

time”andarguingthat“nothinghappened.”Weseeevidence–bothassheworksthroughdisagreements,co-constructs

acritiqueofthebookwithherWhitecolleaguesandinherjournal–thatforher,oneaspectofracialliteracyis

understandingtheperspectivesandactionsofherWhitecolleagues.

critical discourse analysis

R.Rogers,M.Mosley/LinguisticsandEducation19(2008)107–131125

Jennaexperimentswithdifferentwaysofinteracting(genres)throughoutthediscussions.Sheconsistentlydrawson

conversationbuilders,agreement,cohesivemarkers,revoicingandrepetitionstokeeptheconversationgoing.Shealso,

however,asksprobingquestions,takesthe oors,drawsonintertextualresources,offerschallengestohercolleagues’

naturalizedstatementsaboutraceorracism,useshumor,asksrhetoricalquestionsandsoforth.Atseveralpointsin

thediscussionshechallengedherWhitecolleagues’perspectivesaroundrace.ShedidnotchallengeFayebutrather,

listenedtoherperspective.Wenoticedshiftsinherunderstandingofanti-racismbeingmorethanjusttalkbutincluding

actionsaswell(discourse).Aswepointedoutinthegroupdiscussionsection,shephysicallyanddiscursivelyshifted

heridenti cationfromthebookandWinnietoFayeandabroaderunderstandingofthebook(style).Herbodylanguage

andverbalcommentssuggestanopennessandwillingnesstomovedeeperintoherunderstandingofrace,anti-racism

andracism.Herlistening,ratherthantalking,mayhaveallowedChelseymoretimetoparticipateinthediscussions

andachancetounderstandhercolleagues’perspectives.

Chelseyseesmultipleformsofactioninthebookandcallsonanargumentstructurethatisbasedinevidencefrom

thebooktomakehercase(genre).Chelseyseemstounderstandanti-racismasmoreofanincrementalprocessthan

Faye(discourse).However,shealsounderstandsFaye’scritiqueofthebookandco-constructsamultimodalcritique

ofthebookcoverswithFaye.Throughthissetofinteractionsshedemonstratesthatthediscourseofracismcanbe

perpetuatedthrougharangeofverbalandnonverbalresources.Wenoticedthatinthisbookclubconversationshe

tookastancetodefendtheanti-racistactionsoftheWhitecharacterinthebookbutdidnotchallengethenaturalized

statementsaboutracismorwhiteprivilegethatToddpresented(style).

8.Conclusions

Racialliteracyisachievedinmoment-to-momentinteractions,which,inturn,areshapedbythehistoricaland

institutionalframeworksparticipantsbringwiththemintoconversations.Our ndingssuggestthatbecomingracially

literateisaninteractiveprocessthatincludesbothsupportandchallenge.Indeed,theparticipantssupportedone

anotherinbecomingraciallyliterate,modelingdiscourses,racialvocabulariesandconceptualmodelsforfurtherinter-

racialunderstandings.Theyalsodemonstratedhowracialliteracyincludesdisagreement,challengesandmultiple

perspectives.

Wesawhow,inthebookclubconversation,Toddwassupportedtoanswerhisquestion“Whatiswhiteprivilege?,”

Whenaskediftherewasanyplacewherehe,asaWhiteman,couldnottravel,Toddadmitsthattherearefew.After

listeningtohisexplanationFayeresponds,“Andthisisaprivilege.That’spartofwhiteprivilege.”Throughgentle

nudgestoextendTodd’sthinkingaroundrace,FayesupportsToddtogenerate,fromhisownexperiences,anexample

ofwhiteprivilege.Theco-constructedmultimodalanalysisofthebookcoversisanotherexampleofjointengagement

andsupportaroundracialliteracy.Inthisevent,thesharedanalyticspaceofthemultiplecoverdesignsalloweddifferent

participantstocoordinatetheirdiscoursesandperspectives,deepeningthediscursiveandmultimodalresourcesattheir

disposal.FayechangesthegenreofthebookclubfromtalktomultimodalanalysisandherWhitecolleaguesfollowher

lead.Throughprobingquestions(e.g.whenFayeasksChelseyaboutherbookcover“Whatdoyouthinkthatsays?”),

co-constructingmeanings(e.g.throughverbalandnonverbalturns)theytogetherimprovisealayeredanalysisofthe

bookcovers.Perhapsthemovementfromdiscussiontothemultimodalanalysisofimagesopenedupaspaceforthe

pre-serviceteacherstoengagewithracedifferentlythantheycouldwithwordsalone.

Thepre-serviceteachers’existingunderstandingswerealsochallenged.Eachoftheparticipantsrethinktheir

currentlyheldbeliefsaroundraceinthebookclub.Themultiperspectivalspaceofthebookclubofferedawindowto

seeideasandviewpointsdifferentfromtheirownwhich,inturn,shedreliefontheirownconstructsaroundrace.Recall,

forexample,Jenna’sidenti cationwithWinniebutherdesiretohearFaye’sperspectiveaboutWinnie—communicated

throughherrepeatedquestiontoFaye“whatdidyoufeel?”Faye’sunderstandingofWinniewasaperspectivethat

Jennahadnotconsidered.Faye,too,openlyacknowledgesinherjournalthatsherealizedtheracialliteracyworkthat

Whitepeopleperform,“Icriticizesocietyforplacingtheburdenofracismonpeopleofcolor,yetIalsocriticizebooks

likeIggie’sHouseforattemptingtoshiftsomeoftheburdentoWhitepeopleandhowtheydealwithracism.”She

opensherselftothepossibilityofdifferenttypesofanti-racistwork.WeseeandhearhowToddworksthroughhis

recognitionthathisWhitefriendshavedifferentunderstandingsofracismandwhiteprivilege.Throughthemultimodal

analysisofthebookcovers,weseeandhearhowChelsey,too,re-examinestheauthorandcoverdesigner’slinguistic

andvisualmetaphorsandwhatthesecommunicateaboutrace.

critical discourse analysis

126R.Rogers,M.Mosley/LinguisticsandEducation19(2008)107–131

Thespaceofchildren’sliteraturewithinthebookcluballowedthisinter-racialgroupofstudentstojointlyengage

aroundtheproblematicofanti-racism.Theyconductedtheirowncriticalanalysisofthecharacters’wordsand

actions—scrutinizingtheintentionsandconsequences.Indoingso,theyengagetheirracialimaginationsaboutwhat

isandshouldbeconsideredanti-racism.Wewouldarguethatthespaceofthechildren’sliteratureprovidedasupport

forthestudentstoengagewiththemotives,intentions,dispositions,wordsandactionsofthecharacters.Thatis,as

theyre-interpretWinnie,theyalsore-interpretthemselvesandtheirrelationtoeachotherinawaythattheymightnot

beabletowithoutthepresenceof ction.Winnie’s ctionalcharacterallowedthepre-serviceteachersthespaceto

rehearsetheircritiquesandpraises,aroundanti-racismthattheymightnothavethecourage(yet)todowithpeople.This

rehearsaladdstoeachparticipants’stockofdiscursiveresourcesthattheymightcallonintheirnextsetofinteractions.

Interestingly,theyenactracialliteracyasde nedbycriticalracetheorists(Guinier,2004)andwhitenessstudies

(Twine,2004).Thatis,theframeworkofracewasusedasalenstoexploresocial,historicalandinstitutionalprac-

tices(Bell,1992,2004;Guinier,2004).Criticalracetheoriststendtoemphasizetheinstitutionalprocessesoverthe

individual—focusingonthematerialoutcomesofraceasasocialmechanism.Fayemostconsistentlyaddresseda

racialframeworkfromthisstandpoint—althoughtheotherparticipantsdidhistoricizethebookandbringracisminto

thecurrentcontext.Racialliteracyasithasbeenarticulatedinwhitenessstudiesattendstothesocialandcultural

interactionsbetweenpeople.JennaandChelseytendedtoaddressracefromthestandpointofindividuals’interactions.

PerhapsFaye’sdiscomfortwithnamingtalkasaformofsocialactionstemsfromthelackofdifferencetalkhas

historicallymadearoundmattersofracismandracialinjustices.Itmightalsostemfromadesiretolocateactionin

economicandpoliticalstructuresthatimpactthedailyrealitiesofpeopleofcolor.Partofracialliteracy,then,forWhite

people,isunderstandinghowthehistoricalandmaterialrealitiesofracismcausepeopleofcolorfeelanurgencyabout

changethatmustmovebeyondthediscursiverealm.Ontheotherhand,Jenna’sstrongidenti cationwiththecharacter

wasbasedonherowngrowingactivismanddevelopinganti-racistidentity.ForJenna,talkingaboutmattersofrace

andracismwithherfriendsandfamilyisrisky—sheadmitshowdif cultitistogetanyuptakearoundracialmatters

fromtheWhitepeopleinherlife.Partofracialliteracyforpeopleofcolor,mightincluderecognitionofthedifferent

stepsWhitepeopletakeastheylearntobecomeananti-racist.Bothgroupsneedmultipleopportunitiestodialogueon

raceinbothintra-andinter-racialgroupsandtolearnmoreabouthistoricalandmaterialconditionsthatmakeracism

andanti-racismpossible.

Thus,ouranalysisleadsustoareconstructedframeworkforracialliteracy—onethatincludesperspectivesfrom

bothcriticalracetheoryandwhitenessstudies.Wereturntoourearlierdiscussion,drawingonGuinier(2004)and

Twine(2004),butaddtotheirde nitionstheroleofaction.Racialliteracyinvolvesasetoftools(psychological,

conceptual,discursive,material)whichindividuals(bothpeopleofcolorandWhitepeople)usetodescribe,interpret,

explainandactontheconstellationofpractices(e.g.historical,economic,psychological,interactional)thatcomprise

racismandanti-racism.Actionsincludeabroadarrayofelements—includingdiscussingracialissues,readingand

writingaboutracialissues,bringingcriticalliteracytotextsaboutracism,interruptingracismintalkandaction,and

educatingoneselfabouttheeconomicrealitiesofinstitutionalracism.Beyondthesepracticesthatwerepartofthebook

clubformatandotheracademicspaces,actionthroughparticipationinorganizedeventsaroundanti-racism,eventsthat

worktheintersectionbetweenanti-racismandinequitiesinlanguageeducation,immigration,schoolreform,human

rights,andenvironmentalissues.

Earlierworkwithteachersaroundissuesofraceandculturehasfocusedonthediscursiveconstructionofwhite

talkandstrategiesthatteachersusetoavoidconversationsaroundrace(e.g.CaseandHemmings,2005;deFrietas,

2005;Willis,2003).Wewouldarguethatthesearticlesdocumentsuchpracticeswithoutacloseexaminationofhow

whitetalkispartofthepatternsofpracticesofindividualswhoparticipateinsuchdiscussions.Further,thework

withteachersthatexaminesracialunderstandingthroughnarrativeshasoftenbeenlessattentivetothewaysthatthe

participantsusesuchnarrativesasoneofmanymultimodalresources.Forexample,howdopatternsinthecrossingand

re-crossingoflegs,theproxemicsofthegroup,andothernonverbalcuesmarkengagement,disengagement,orshifting

understandings?Ourprolongedengagementasteacher-researchersanddatacollectedacrossethnographiccontexts

alongwithourongoingteachingandresearchsuggeststhatweneedamorecomplicatedwayofunderstandingthe

workthatagroupofinter-racialpeopledotogetherasagroup,includingthemultimodalwork.

Our ndingsindicatethatracialliteracyincludesnotonlywhatissigni edthroughverbalandnonverbalmodes

butalsohowitissigni ed.Muchofracialliteracyoccursunderthesurfaceofwords,whichiswhyweturned

toaframeworkthatdrewfrommultimodaldiscourseanalysis(Norris,2004)andcriticaldiscourseanalysis(Fair-

clough,2004;Gee,1999/2006).Ideologiesaroundracearecommunicatedthroughwhatissaid(andnotsaid)as

critical discourse analysis

R.Rogers,M.Mosley/LinguisticsandEducation19(2008)107–131127

wellasthroughbodylanguage,gestures,eyegaze,anduseofspace.Thesesemioticresourcescanfunctionon

theirown—withoutthepresenceoflanguage.Often,though,theyarecombinedwithverbalpracticesandwork

togethertocomplimentoremphasizeamessageor,conversely,tocontradictamessage.Toactualizetherelationships

betweenthelanguagebits(structureandsemanticsoflanguage)withlargersocialpractices,wecreatedahybrid

methodologicalconventionthatreliesontheorthographicconventionsof(smallcaseletter/uppercaseletter)pop-

ularizedbyGee(1999/2006)andthediscursiveframeworkofgenre,discourseandstylealaHalliday(1978)and

Fairclough(2004).Thatis,eachgenre,discourseandstylethatconstitutesaninteractionisstructuredbythelan-

guagebitsandbylargersocialpractices.Thisdiscursivestructuringisheldtogetherbyahybridsemioticthread

whichincludesmultimodalities.Wehaveconceptualizedmultimodalresourcesasdistributedacrossgenre,discourse

andstyle.Lookingattheinteractionsthroughthelensofmultimodalityofferedavantagepointtoobservemeaning

makingpracticesthatmighthaveotherwisegoneunnoticed.Forinstance,noticingthedifferenttypesofgestures

(e.g.pointed/sharpandwide/expansive)Chelseyusedinheranalysisoftheracialmetaphorsdepictedonthebook

coverhelpedustounderstandhercritiqueoftheartwork.ThroughourmultimodalanalysiswealsonoticedhowFaye

responded,nonverbally,toTodd’scommentabouthate-crimesagainstAfrican-Americans.Sheimmediatelylooked

downathernotebookandbegantowrite.Readingthisdiscomfort,signaledthroughbodylanguage,Jennadirectly

questionsToddtokeeptheconversationmoving.Mostcriticaldiscourseanalyseshavenotcloselyattendedtomul-

tiplemodalities,butouranalyticproceduresoftranscribingtalkandactionallowedustoseepatternsinhowthese

multimodalresourceswerestructuredandusedovertimebyparticipants.Methodsfortracingmultimodalengage-

mentaswaysofpositioningoneselfinrelationtoDiscoursesaboutraceandracismisanareathatwarrantsongoing

theorization.

8.1.Pedagogicalinsights

Everyinteractionholdsthepotentialfortheparticipantstocreatenewmeanings—throughthediscursivenetworking

ofgenres,discoursesandstyles.Manyanalysesofclassroomtalkaroundracehavenotcloselyattendedtothediscursive

threadsthatindividualsbringwiththemintoconversationsandhowslightshiftsindiscoursepatternsmightsignala

shiftinlearning.Suchshifts,wewouldargue,holdimplicationsforaction—mental,discursive,andmaterialaction.

Asweheardinthediscussion,asthediscursivethreadsintheconversationshiftandchange,so,toodothemental

formationswhichmayleadtotransformedwaysofactingandbeinginthesocialworld.

Asothersresearchershaveconvincinglyargued,bookclubswithinteachereducationclassroomscanprovidea

productivespaceforrehearsingrolesassociatedwithmulticulturalsociety(e.g.Florio-Ruane,2001;Lewisetal.,

2001).Themoreexperiencesteachers(pre-serviceandin-service)havewithracialliteracy,themorelikelytheyare

tosetuptheconditionsintheirownclassroomsforstudentstoengagewithracialliteracy.Thisinturnmightleadto

themseekingoutratherthansuppressingopportunitiestobecomeraciallyliterate.

Weneedtorecognizethattoacertainextent,thestudentsinthisstudywereinclinedtopersonalandintellectual

growthbecauseoftheirstatusasstudentsinateachereducationprogram.However,wealsoneedtorecognizethe

additionalconditionsthatmakesuchracialliteracyworkpossible.Wedesignedthecoursetobeanongoingcurricular

conversationaroundjusticeandequity.Throughacombinationofseminardiscussions,readings,onlinediscussions,

journalre ections,teachingexperiences,debrie ngwithcolleaguesaboutteachingandbookclubdiscussions—the

pre-serviceteachersinthisstudyhadavarietyofopportunitiestonotonlylearnaboutbutalsotolearnhowtointeract

withothersaroundracialliteracy.Overthecourseofayeartheyhadbuiltuprelationshipsandtrustnecessaryto

overcomerupturesindiscussionsanddifferentpointsofview.Weacknowledgethatthecommunitythatwasbuilt

mightnotbepossiblewiththetimeconstraintsofatraditionalsemestercourse.

Webelievetherearegreatpossibilitiesforexploringwithteachersthemicro-interactionsofdiscussionsaswe

havepresentedhere.Pedagogicallyitalsoseemsimportanttobuildinopportunitiesfortheparticipantstore ecton

theparticipantstructures,topics,andpositionsthatkepttheconversationmovingalong.Similarly,re ectingonthe

momentswheretherewasa ssureinthedialoguemightalsoproveinstructive.Teachereducatorsandteachersmight

applycriticalliteracyandcriticaldiscourseanalysispracticesusingvideo-recordingsandtranscriptsofdiscussions

aboutliteratureandanti-racismastexts.Ourawarenessofthepatternswithwhichpre-serviceteachersengagewith

racialliteracycomesfromsuchanalysisoftextasevidenceoflearning,andweareconvincedthatconversationslike

theoneshadaroundtheliteratureinourteachereducationclasshelpstobuildadiscursivehistory,which,inturn,

supportsthedevelopmentofracialliteracy.

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