C.J. Pascoe, Professor of Sociology at University of Oregon, will give an invited talk on April 15 at 5:00pm in Davis 209 titled “Politics in the Schoolhouse,” based on her new book Nice is Not Enough: Inequality and the Limits of Kindness at American High. 

Register to attend the talk here: https://forms.gle/e2vAb6NuGC6Cw9559

Talk Description:

Across the country, books are being banned, discriminatory policies passed and wars on inclusion waged as politician and parental fears of “political content” shape school structure, culture, and curriculum. This talk investigates what we mean when we call something political and how the demand for an apolitical education exacts gendered, racialized, sexualized and classed harms. Drawing on lessons learned from a study of American High School, a school filled with well-meaning staff and students, where kindness characterizes school culture, this talk explores what happens when political activities, topics and talk are banned in schools. A focus on the social life of the school shows that the void left by banning “the political” gets filled with a regime of kindness. A regime of kindness obscures the systemic nature of inequalities, making them seem like individual problems of merit, hurt feelings, meanness, individual effort, or resilience. As a result, students at American High say that racism is “sugarcoated,” queer youth are told that drag shows could lead to bullying and girls are sent the message that the slogan “your body your choice,” means that they are responsible for preventing sexual violence. Lessons from students and staff at American High suggest ways we can counter these demands for an apolitical schoolhouse by systemizing care in our schools and beyond.

Dr. Pascoe’s lecture is co-sponsored by the Carolina Consortium on Health, Inequalities, and Populations, Department of Sociology, and Department of Women’s and Gender Studies.