Overview
School integration has been a source of considerable frustration in the United States; indeed, many of the relevant social, political, and ethical disagreements persist into the present moment. How ought school integration efforts be understood, even while acknowledging enduring background patterns of significant segregation in the wider society? What can and should our society expect schools to do in this context? This event’s speakers examine the democratic obstacles and opportunities present in these complex and timely questions.
This colloquium is part of CEHV's 2022-23 COMPAS Program on Education in our Democracy.
In-person attendance is encouraged, but attendees are welcome to access the event virtually. Registration is open HERE.
Panelists
Erica O. Turner (Associate Professor, Educational Policy Studies, UW Madison)
Erica O. Turner is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Policy Studies. Her research examines racism and inequity—and efforts to challenge those—in education policy and practice. She uses a sociocultural, critical race approach to understanding educational policymaking and practice, and the consequences of educational inequity for students, families, communities, schools, and policymakers. Her scholarship illuminates how diverse groups—from school district leaders to students to community members—make sense of and negotiate education problems, policies, equity and justice amidst shifting social, political, and economic contexts.
Through her research and teaching she seeks to deepen how we conceptualize policy problems, racial equity, educational aims, and policy alternatives and ultimately to contribute to the knowledge necessary to make public schooling more equitable and just. Professor Turner has published on these topics in her book Suddenly Diverse: How School Districts Manage Race and Inequality (University of Chicago Press, 2020) and in journals such as the American Educational Research Journal, Educational Researcher, Journal of Education Policy, and Urban Education. Her work has been supported by grants from the University of Wisconsin, the Spencer Foundation, the State Farm Companies Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and NAEd/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship Program. Professor Turner was a middle school teacher before earning her PhD at the University of California, Berkeley.
Lawrence Blum (Distinguished Professor, Liberal Arts and Education, UMass Boston)
Larry Blum is Distinguished Professor of Liberal Arts and Education, and Professor of Philosophy (Emeritus), University of Massachusetts Boston. He works in the areas of moral philosophy, race studies, and philosophy of education. He is the author of 6 books in these areas, including the award-winning “I’m Not a Racist, But…”: The Moral Quandary of Race (award from NASSP: North American Society for Social Philosophy: “best social philosophy of the year”); a book on his teaching a course on race and racism at his local high school, High Schools, Race, and America’s Future (2012); and the book from which he will be speaking today, Integrations: The Struggle for Racial Equality and Civic Renewal (2021, Univ of Chicago)(co-author: Zoe Burkholder).
