A critical discourse analysis of racial(32)

acloserlook,usingthetoolsofcriticaldiscourseanalysis,thatwereallyunderstoodthecomplexityofthesemiotic

tools,narrativesanddiscursivehistoriesthatwereusedthroughoutthebookclub.Wehavearguedthatracialliteracyis

evidentintheparticipants’waysofinteracting,waysofrepresentingandwaysofbeinginthebookclub;eachinfused

withverbalandnonverbalsemioticresourcesthateachparticipantbroughttothetable.

Atthegrouplevel,wenoticedanincreaseinmodaldensityasthestudentsworkedthroughadif cultideaortried

tounderstandanewposition.Theincreaseduseofgesturesorshiftinposturesignaledtheparticipants’needtocall

onadditionalsemioticresourcestomaketheirpoint.TheWhitestudentstendedtoforegroundmental,verbal,and

relationalverbprocesseswhentheytalkedaboutanti-racism.Fayearguedforanti-racismtobegroundedinaction,not

talkbutacloserexaminationoftheverbalprocessessheusedindicatedthatshe,too,drewondiscursive,relationaland

mentalverbs(andsomematerialandphysicalverbs)whenshediscussedanti-racism.Whenthestudentstalkedabout

racism,however,theyusedmaterialandphysicalverbalprocesses,indicatingamuchclearerlocationofracism(rather

thananti-racism)asmaterialandphysical.Thissuggeststheneedformoreexposure(forallstudents)toexamplesof

anti-racistactions.

Wehaveintentionallybroughtthegroup’sconstructionofmeaningtothesurfacethroughoutthisarticle.Atthis

point,however,weshiftourfocustothenetworksofgenre,discourseandstyleforindividualswithinthegroup.Such

networks(andchangesinthenetworks)areexamplesofwhatChouliarakiandFairclough(1999)call“resemiotization”

andareimportantbecausetheyrepresentlearning.Asweheardfromthegroupconversations,Toddparticipatedin

agroupdiscussionaroundrace,racismandanti-racismwhenprompted,buthiscontributions,atonepointintime,

evokedadiscourseofwhiteprivilegethatnaturalizedexplanationsforwhyracismexiststoday.Further,heexhibited

apatternofdeclarativestatements(genre)coupledwiththediscourseofracismandpassivesyntacticalconstruction

(style).Forexample,weheardToddsay,“therearejustsomeplaceswherepeoplecan’tlive”(line336).Thisstatement

naturalizesracismandabdicatesWhitepeoplefromresponsibilityversussaying“Whitepeopleandracistinstitutional

practicesmakeitimpossibleforBlackpeopletoliveinsomeneighborhoods”—astatementthatnamesresponsibility.

Todddoesevokethediscourseofracismasacontemporarysetofpracticesthroughouthisinteractionsinthebook

club.Wefoundthispromisingbecauseoften,Whitepeoplediscussracismasaproblemofthepast,asaresultofthe

civilrightsmovementandtheendofdejuresegregation(Bell,2004).Whenhetalksaboutracisminthepresentday,he

doessothroughpersonalnarratives(genre).Forexample,startinginline602,heusedapersonalnarrativethatevoked

twodiscourses—racismstillexistsandWhitepeoplearenotawareoftheirracism.Wefoundthisnarrativeabouthis

“cousin’sfriends”tobepromisingbecauseearlierinthesemesterhehadaskedFayeforanexampleofwhiteprivilege

whereashere,hegeneratesanexampleofwhiteprivilege,anaspectofracism,byhimself.

Throughoutthebookclubdiscussions,Fayedemonstratesagreatamountof exibilityinthevarietyofgenresshe

calledontofurtherhercritiqueofthebook.Forexample,shecalledon ctionalencounters,narrativesandmultimodal

analyses,tonamejustafew.Fayearguesforanti-racismasactionnottalk(discourse)butoftenusedverbal,mentaland

relationshipverbsratherthanactionverbstomakeherargument(style).OnepossibleinterpretationofthisisthatFaye

isactuallymoreopentoconsideringtalkasactionthansheexplicitlystates.WenoticedthatFaye uctuatedbetween

usingthepresentprogressiveconstruction“growingactivist”and“shelearnedalot”whichsuggestsanti-racismisa

setofprocessesthatislearnedandinvolvesacombinationoftalkandactiontocallingWinnie’sactions“awasteof

time”andarguingthat“nothinghappened.”Weseeevidence–bothassheworksthroughdisagreements,co-constructs

acritiqueofthebookwithherWhitecolleaguesandinherjournal–thatforher,oneaspectofracialliteracyis

understandingtheperspectivesandactionsofherWhitecolleagues.

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