The Emperor Has No Clothes! Exposing Whiteness as Explicit, Implicit, and Null CurriculumHyeRan Kim-Cragg (St. Andrew's College)Research Interest Group. [
Paper] The term “whiteness,” its loaded meaning needs unpacking in the present context. This paper uncovers whiteness, employing three aspects of curriculum, explicit, implicit, and null, as it is embedded in the language we use, permeates the space we inhabit, and continues to mask violence in the history that is not taught. Dismantling whiteness as a visible and invisible system of power is an urgent agenda for religious education.
Between Utopia and Reality – Can We Make Inclusion in Society Happen?Sarah Reuter (Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn)Research Interest Group. [
Paper] As an idea centred around the benefits of diversity, plurality, and the heterogeneous nature of humanity, inclusion radically cuts ties with the belief, that there is a way of being, a way of thinking or living perhaps, that is “normal” or “normative” for everyone or anyone. But it brings with it the problem of bridging the gap between a utopian idea and reality: how can society become inclusive without assuming an in/out binary? How can we implement an idea we have to think of as already in place? And how could this lead to a society devoid of supremacist thinking and negative normativity?
Searching for Meaning in the Wake of Gun Violence in Schools: One Catholic High School’s ResponseLindsay Radice (St. Vincent Pallotti)Research Interest Group. [
Paper] On March 14th, the anniversary of massacre at Columbine High School, students across the U.S. walked out of their schools to protest Congress’ inaction in response to gun violence. While the walk out was organized to target public schools, some within Catholic high school communities felt compelled to respond. This essay explores how one Catholic school community responded to the March 14th walkout and discusses the role Catholic education plays in helping students to contextualize difficult realities through the lens of Terence H. McLaughlin’s distinctive features of Catholic education.