It's Supposed to be Complicated: Using Anti-Essentialist Historical Content to Nuance the Teaching and Learning of Race/Ethnicity
The teaching and learning of U.S. history offers students insight into stories about who we are as a nation. Embedded in such narratives are simplistic assumptions about race/ethnicity and how they function in the U.S. This presentation documents how these problematic narratives, that essentialize differing racial/ethnic experiences, can be challenged. Dr. Santiago discusses 1) how including Latinx historical events into the curriculum omits their complex racial/ethnic realities; and 2) insights into how anti-essentialist historical content can help educators complicate students’ understanding of how people are racialized to uphold white supremacy.
Dr. Maribel Santiago is an Associate Professor of Justice and Teacher Education at the University of Washington. Her research combines history heuristics, history of education, and racial formation theories to complicate the teaching and learning of race/ethnicity in K-12 classrooms. Specifically, her considers the production and consumption of Latinx histories: what students, policymakers, and educators learn about Latinx communities, and how they conceptualize Latinx experiences. Dr. Santiago earned a Ph.D. in History/Social Studies Education and an M.A. in History, both from Stanford University. She also received the National Council of the Social Studies Exemplary Research Award for her article in Cognition and Instruction.
