Why Should They Care? Integrating Critical Race Theory Into English Curricula for the Purpose of Relevance (2016)

Undergraduate: Kirsten Steele

Faculty Advisor: Patrick Akos
Department: English & Comparative Literature

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Curricula require relevance to show students how the material applies to their lives, demonstrating why students should care about school. This project examines integrating critical race theory into classroom pedagogy and curricula to help increase relevance, specifically for students of color. It weighs the benefits and disadvantages of different methods of implementing critical race theory inside a high school English class. Here I present a pedagogy that encourages students to examine current events and world issues through a critical race lens.