Canonical ignorance is policed socially in feminist classrooms, alienating black newcomers

Evidence

In a feminist classroom, especially a Women’s Studies course, the black student, who has had no previous background in feminist studies, usually finds that she or he is in a class that is predominantly white (often attended by a majority of outspoken young, white, radical feminists, many of whom link this politic to issues of gay rights). Unfamiliarity with the issues may lead black students to feel at a disadvantage both academically and culturally (they may not be accustomed to public discussions of sexual practice). If a black student acknowledges that she is not familiar with the work of Audre Lorde and the rest of the class gasps as though this is unthinkable and reprehensible, that gasp evokes the sense that feminism is really a private cult whose members are usually white. — bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress, 210

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to the reader’s other material on gatekeeping, insider knowledge, and how communities police shared canons — echoes Milgrom on reputation communities excluding outsiders. — connects to: Anti-intellectualism and academic exclusion silence Black women from both ends; Apparent classroom neutrality can feel unsafe to students of color — bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Education as…, 86; Lone minority students get objectified as native informants in diverse classrooms — bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress: Education as…, 92 (+2 more)

Broader Connections

• Apparent classroom neutrality can feel unsafe to students of color #corroborates (0.78) — bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress, 86
• Lone minority students get objectified as native informants in diverse classrooms #expands (0.76) — bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress, 92
• Professors’ residential segregation from students breeds self-declared liberalism masking classroom conservatism #expands (0.74) — bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress, 261
• Anti-intellectualism and academic exclusion silence Black women from both ends #qualifies (0.72)