Theory on the other Side of the Veil: Reckoning with Legacies of Anti-Blackness and Teaching in Social Theory

Abstract

Classical Theory courses in the U.S. present a history of our discipline grounded in the works of Durkheim, Marx, and Weber, defining “classic” by space and time, giving pre-World War II Europe credit for creating the foundation of contemporary sociology. While past critiques of this canon have argued for expanding the geographic bounds outside of Europe, these efforts still ground the origins of social theory in a time period of racial exclusion and segregation. We argue for a reckoning with the racial origins of the discipline in the United States in anti-Blackness and the legacies of racial exclusions. We must grapple with the histories of exclusion and segregation that continue to impact the discipline’s present and futures. In this paper, we argue that the teaching of sociology’s history should be through the “Foundations of Social Theory,” a broad approach to teaching that rejects the ideas of both “classics” and a “canon.” This approach roots theory in our history through core issues of study (e.g., the origins and consequences of capitalism) and directly addresses past racial and gendered exclusions by centering BIPOC intellectual contributions across time. By lifting the time and space restrictions, we open the doors to including voices omitted and repressed due to the exclusion of BIPOC people, especially Black women, from higher education in the U.S. This approach acknowledges the diverse histories and voices in our classrooms and profession, and highlights the relevance of social theory for our future.

Theorizing the Teaching Triad

“…As such, advocate faculty actively combat systems of oppression and enact a pedagogy of care, one based on the humanity of all (Freire [1970] 2005; hooks 1994; see Sweet [1998] on institutional constraints). This approach can be seen in syllabi that explicitly address events outside the classroom and the politics of citation as well as how the course itself is structured (e.g., Fillingim and Rucks-Ahidiana 2021; Reyes and Johnson 2020). Advocate faculty may also seek TAs’ feedback when creating assignments and rubrics.…”

So You’ve Provincialized the Canon. Now What?

“…Others have warned of the tokenizing effects that stem from merely adding individual thinkers, such as Du Bois. These scholars have focused on ways that theory curricula need to be significantly reformulated to incorporate substantive topics, like race and gender, that are central to the discipline of sociology yet largely absent from the classical canon (Reyes and Johnson 2020;Itzigsohn and Brown 2020) and to expose the historical conditions that created the (White/European) foundingfathers myth of sociology in the first place (Connell 1997;Fillingim and Rucks-Ahidiana 2021;Meghji 2021). Perhaps the most radical proposals call the very idea of a canon into question, arguing that it rests on "an untenable foundation story" (Connell 1997(Connell :1511 that obscures the discipline's true origins all the while narrowing what sorts of questions are deemed truly sociological (see also Connell 2007).…”

“…Second, especially in the case of undergraduate theory instruction, we believe that it is our job to equip students with tools to theorize the present-day social world around them (Herring et al 2016; Fillingim and Rucks-Ahidiana 2021). Students are often attracted to the discipline of sociology because they hope to understand social problems or issues that matter to them.…”

“… 4. Fillingim and Rucks-Ahidiana (2021) argue for a broader approach to teaching theory that emphasizes these kinds of questions when engaging the canon while centering work from Black and Indigenous scholars and scholars of color. …”

Transgressing the Academy

“…In calling for scholars to transgress the academy, this essay joins long-standing calls for centering the research and theorization by and for scholars of color and people from marginalized communities (e.g., Ferguson 2004;Fillingim and Rucks-Ahidiana 2021;Hoang 2022;Itzigsohn and Brown 2020;Jacob 2018;Luna and Pirtle 2021;Morris 2015;Reyes and Johnson 2020), one that queers sociology by foregrounding relations of power and decentering Euro-American research by relying on multiple intellectual genealogies, including Black feminist thought, indigenous feminist thought, women of color feminisms, and queer of color critique (e.g., Moussawi and Vidal-Ortiz 2020;Shotton et al 2018). We extend these calls by recognizing that transgressing the academy demands praxis across our personal and professional commitments.…”