Racial Dimensions of Life Writing in Education

This collection presents life writing projects that explore or represent the racial dimensions of life writing research in diverse educational spaces using diverse methodologies and inquiry approaches. We believe this collection is long overdue. To quote Melva R. Grant and Signe E. Kastberg’s succinct phrasing (this volume) “racialized inquiry matters.” While some rich texts explore the racial aspects and anti-racist potential of social science research (Blee, 2018; Lopez & Parker, 2003; Sefa Dei & Johal, 2005; Twine & Warren, 2000), and include examples from educational contexts, there are no collections which focus on the intersections of life writing inquiry as educative projects that highlight racial dimensions of the work and lives under study. Drawing from Toni Morrison’s enduring wisdom, a visionary writer whose work has explored the racial dimensions of culture and lived experience, we centralize race in life writing in this collection rather than obscuring it or leaving it as a lurking, absent presence in the craft.

Racial Dimensions of Life Writing Research offers a wealth of ideas and perspectives from which scholars, teachers, and students can draw to support their work. The 14 chapters in this collection attend to national, international, and local concerns, include varied theoretical and methodological approaches, and reflect a range of ethnic and racial heritages. Chapters consider practical, theoretical, ethical, and educational issues involved in projects concerning under-represented educational actors important for the terrain of life writing. The authors include established and emerging scholars— university researchers, directors, and professors, academic advisors, graduate and undergraduate students, activists, and former elementary and secondary school teachers. It is our hope that this volume will spark conversation, debate, and reflection and will be a valuable resource that inspires scholarship about how race and its intersections shape the life-writing inquiry process.