Join Area 3 Writing Project teacher leader Hannah Hohle in this week long workshop focused on writing in Ethnic Studies. Teachers will have the opportunity to delve deeply into Ethnic Studies frameworks and disciplines as they are relevant in the English Language Arts classroom. As English Language Arts teachers, it is important to examine the power dynamics embedded in the English language itself. In Rethinking Ethnic Studies, the scholarship defines English as “a linguistic vestige of settler colonialism and white supremacy in the United States… We recognize that when we use English to communicate, we are fundamentally bound by the politics of racism, patriarchy, sexism, capitalism, and colonization buried within the English language.” We will reflect on this statement and discuss how to teach critical literacy while centering ES pedagogies and praxes. We will also delve into the four disciplines of Ethnic Studies to ground our work and discuss text selection in the classroom. Together, we will consider how we can apply ES frameworks and disciplinary knowledge in our ELA classrooms to help our students develop critical reading, writing, and discussion skills as we redesign and reframe writing assignments for our courses.

Outcomes/Topics

• Reading and discussing Ethnic Studies scholarship to help us reflect on our own teaching practice
• Learning about the four Ethnic Studies disciplines (Native American Studies, Chicanx Studies, African American Studies, Asian American/ Pacific Islander Studies) as we think about course development
• Engaging in lessons and activities that center ES frameworks and disciplines to help us create and/or reimagine student-centered writing assignments