CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2022
| Author | Vorozhtsova, Anastasiia |
|---|---|
| Title | From the Margins Into the Classroom and Beyond: Addressing Race, Racism, and Epistemic Justice Within IR |
| Summary | In this thesis, I explore the questions of race and racism within the discipline of International Relations (IR). I start from the paradox I witness: the discipline that preoccupies itself with global power structures does not speak of racism often. The mainstream IR of today reproduces some of its foundational colonial premises yet does not resort to racism and racialized inequalities as an analytical prism. I unpack the problem through two levels: I look at the lack of diversity at the “people-level” of the discipline and examine the so-called “myth reproduction” at the “theory-level” of IR. I turn to the IR classroom as a possible site of challenge and change. I ask: how can the IR classroom become a site of anti-racist pedagogical practice? I introduce the concept of epistemic justice. Relying on the method of relational interviewing, I bring in five conversations – interviews with two IR professors who address race and racism in class discussions, as well as with two current PhD students and one former student activist who have carried their demands for change, diversity, and justice outside the classroom. My conversations with professors illustrate the strategies of bringing about change in the classroom space. My conversations with current/former students call for action. I navigate them through the trio of “critique, diversify, and re-story.” Autoethnographic and narrative dimensions of IR influence my writing. |
| Supervisor | Strausz, Erzsébet |
| Department | International Relations MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2022/vorozhtsova_anastasi.pdf |
Visit the CEU Library.
© 2007-2021, Central European University