Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Navigating Perceptions Of ‘Otherness’ In The Classroom: One Experience, Nikitah O. Imani

Black Studies Faculty Publications

As a direct result of the pervasive nature of Eurocentrism and Platonic epistemology in the academy today, teaching undergraduates is a special challenge for those who are viewed as representations of cultural others. This presents such teachers with what may be described at best as “unique” classroom experiences. Their “being” is rendered in a manner that places it on trial. This trial, taking place in the mind of the student becomes an additional barrier to the learning process, and oft-times a crutch that allows the interjection of variables of social and cultural stratification when the lack of academic preparation is …