dwelling with middle schoolers on race and racism in us history
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12957/childphilo.2026.94636Keywords:
communities of inquiry, race and racisme, history educationAbstract
In a 2018 article, Darren Chetty draws attention to a serious problem in the field of Philosophy for/with Children (P4/WC). Framed as gated, Chetty challenges the role of reasonableness in the creation and function of the community of inquiry. A community of inquiry based on an ahistoric conception of reasonableness not only limits what can be said but who can say what. Chetty ends the critique by calling on P4C practitioners to de-center reasonableness and re-center historical perspectives to challenge racialized common sense in the community of inquiry. I’m motivated by the call from Chetty to center historical perspectives in the community inquiry and forgo the traditional commitment to reasonableness in dialogical deliberation. This paper reports how I approached facilitating philosophical conversations with middle schoolers on issues of race and racism in United States (US) history—inspired by how Chetty and Abigail Bentely conducted philosophical conversations on race and racism, I frame my pedagogical approach as dwelling. Like Chetty and Bentley, I facilitated philosophical conversations on race and racism while sitting in a half circle, prompting discussion through engagement with shared stimuli. Unlike Chetty and Bentley, who recruited adult participants from their campus, I enacted these conversations with middle schoolers.
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