Counter-storytelling is one of the principles of critical race theory (CRT). It is also a tool for minorities and members of marginalized groups to tell their stories without a Eurocentric or majoritarian lens. Stowe’s classic novel, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, was influential in impacting societal attitudes against slavery during its time. However, it also conceived negative African-American stereotypes that are still prevalent in media and literature today.
In this workshop, expert Kenya Nelson will discuss why multi-ethnic narratives are more accepted through a Eurocentric perspective instead of the ethnic narrator’s perspective. This is a safe space for students to tell their counter-stories in response to some of the main scenes that will be highlighted from this novel along with the characters' experiences. This workshop aims not to antagonize Stowe but rather to highlight the importance of counter-storytelling for general audiences to understand unfiltered multicultural perspectives better. In addition, students will better understand one of the tenets of critical race theory and how this can be used to create common ground between races.
*Pre-reading the book is NOT required to take this workshop.
Kenya Nelson is the author of Ungrateful, featuring a main character who is an alternative representation to mainstream media’s portrayal of Black women. She holds a Masters in TESOL as well as a Bachelor’s in English. For her graduate research, she focused on Critical Race Theory and how it can be applied in the ESL classrooms, developing a research framework for teachers to explore and decolonize racial ideologies in ESL education. This research study was selected to be used in the Capstone Graduate course at Hamline University. Kenya is currently serving on the International TEFL Academy alumni committee board.
All of our workshops are held over Zoom.
You will receive an email 30 minutes before the workshop begins with the link to join the Zoom meeting. We highly recommend you to create a Zoom account prior to class.
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