I understand that it's just some dumb culture war issue the right is waging.
But like, what is their definition of "teaching critical race theory" in the schools? Like what type of lesson would that constitute?
Critical race theory is an academic discipline within the social sciences and humanities that theorizes about race and racism with a progressive bent. American conservatives have this tendency to take concepts from social sciences and humanities classes and make a big fuss out of them. Never mind that most universities teach nothing but straight liberalism, some of it with a radical sheen.
I see the "critical race theory" panic as similar to the "Frankfurt school" stuff from a few years ago. It's just conservatives reaching to try and find "cultural Marxism" in the curriculum by finding the most far-left stuff that is actually taught, which ends up being progressive lib stuff.
Sure, WEB Du Boise was a communist party member and he technically falls under "critical race theory," but none of his communist beliefs are taught in the university. It's completely de-fanged and turned into "racism sure harms our psyches and social institutions huh."
It's really just a boogeyman, isn't it? I don't think I know anyone who has interacted with what is considered CRT. CRT is part of the many critical theories surrounding race and it'd be wrong to generalize it as "most theory surrounding race" which is how I've seen it interpreted by some libs, cons and leftists. It's a silly boogeyman and it shouldn't be brought up as actually representing leftism and race, but for some reason leftists suddenly want to pick this up because of this boogeymanning. At least Habermas had influence before becoming the conservative boogeyman.
it's so funny how conservatives present critical race theory as some sort of marxist plot, but every three days this marxist forum has a post asking what it even is
It's when people have their own ideas of what NASCAR should do, while having an issue with how it is currently.
There was an excellent effortpost on this yesterday:
The Onion’s Guide To Critical Race Theory
A mounting effort by some Republican lawmakers to ban the teaching of critical race theory in U.S. schools has prompted debate about what it is and its place in American education. The Onion answers the most common questions about critical race theory and the debate surrounding its teaching.
Q: What is critical race theory?
A: An academic concept that racism is a social construct embedded into legal systems, government policies, and in-laws.
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Q: Should critical race theory be taught in our schools?
A: Not unless we’re aiming for fewer white supremacists.
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Q: Won’t teaching it just make other kids hate my white children?
A: Your kids are already insufferable and widely despised.
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Q: Why do some people condemn critical race theory?
A: Misplaced sexual frustrations.
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Q: Does critical race theory instill the belief that all white people are racist?
A: Academics are way too timid to pull off something like that.
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Q: Why are conservatives attacking it so aggressively?
A: They have come to view Joe Biden as too nonthreatening of a target.
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Q: Is it true that critical race theory opposes empiricism and embraces science as a causal mechanism?
A: You’re thinking of critical realism theory, moron.
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Q: Will incorporating critical race theory into education curriculums lead to a less racist society?
A: Probably not, but might as well mix it up a bit in history class.
Basically, it's a buzzphrase that represents schools and other organizations acknowledging that non-white races were oppressed in the United States at various points (and still are to varying degrees and circumstances) and that this oppression may have even been explicitly legal.
There's what it actually is and then there's what conservatives are freaking out about.
What it actually is, is critical theory applied to issues of racial justice rather than Marxism. I.e. the study of how to change society to fix issues of race through a humanities discipline lense.
What conservatives are freaking out about is mostly the implementation of critical race theory which can be anything from Robin DeAngelo level stuff to just teaching that America was once in fact bad.
teaching the history of race that isn't just white hagiography, pretty sure
https://twitter.com/AlsoACarpenter/status/1370126981723951109
https://twitter.com/AlsoACarpenter/status/1387193306715590657
Chuds: "Critical race theory" means "white man bad".
So.... technically correct.
we need a bot that just says "it literally means intersectionality and the like, but it's more like cultural marxism"
