Language, Power, and Whiteness

Back in 2020, we had the opportunity to have writer and linguist JPB Gerald on the podcast to talk about all the things. It was a great conversation and if you haven’t had a chance to listen, we encourage you to go back and check it out!Well, JPB (now Dr. Gerald) is back with Val and Andrew to talk about his new book, Antisocial Language Teaching: English and the Pervasive Pathology of Whiteness. In addition to expanding on much of what we talked about in his first time on the show, the book, and this conversation highlights his thoughts on the connection between language, power, and Whiteness, as well as the links between our concept of dis/ability, and the creation of the idea of Blackness. Through the prism of “standardized” language, Dr. Gerald helps us see the ways race, language, dis/ability all work together to create a hierarchy of human value that we all have an obligation to push back against.LINKS:Dr. Gerald’s websiteAntisocial Language Teaching: English and the Pervasive Pathology of WhitenessDr. Gerald’s dissertationWorth the Risk: Towards Decentring Whiteness in English Language TeachingUnstandardized English – JPB Gerald’s Podcast (and you can support his work on Patreon)Our first episode with Dr. GeraldThe Ezel Project – JPB Gerald’s course on whitenessJPB on TwitterJPB was inspired by Nelson Flores and Jonathan Rosa who have written several pieces together, including Undoing Appropriateness, and Unsettling Race and LanguageDr. Jasmine Clark on the melting pot vs mosaic from our showDr. Susan Faircloth on the loss of native languages from our showACTION STEPS:Check your internal responses to different forms of communicationWork not to force the young people in your life into the box of standardized languageWork in adult spaces to push on that box to make more space for other forms of communicationTalk to the young people in your life about standardized language and their relative access to itRecognize when your access to language makes you comfortable, and push to hear other ideas in those moments (think PTA meetings . . . )Buy Dr. JPB Gerald’s book – Antisocial Language TeachingListen to Unstandardized English Use these links or start at our Bookshop.org storefront to support local bookstores, and send a portion of the proceeds back to us.Join our Patreon to support this work, and connect with us and other listeners to discuss these issues even further.Let us know what you think of this episode, suggest future topics, or share your story with us – @integratedschls on twitter, IntegratedSchools on Facebook, or email us [email protected] Integrated Schools Podcast was created by Courtney Mykytyn and Andrew Lefkowits.This episode was produced by Andrew Lefkowits and Val Brown. It was edited, and mixed by Andrew Lefkowits.Music by Kevin Casey.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy