Encountering War: Challenging Racism, Materialism, and Militarism in Education
Call for Chapters
Editors:
Arshad I. Ali, George Washington University
Tracy Lachica Buenavista, California State University, Northridge
On a Tuesday evening in Spring 1967, a year to the day prior to the assassination of
Martin Luther King, Jr., he called for a fundamental shift in American political and social values
at the Riverside Church in New York City. He stated that, “Our only hope today lies in our
ability to recapture the revolutionary spirit and go out into a sometimes hostile world declaring
eternal hostility to poverty, racism, and militarism.” Fifty years later this era of political action is
celebrated locally, nationally and globally—most notably through the memorialization of King,
in the nation’s capital. However, the contemporary caricature of King as the rejuvenator of the
“great American project” stands silent to his history as a critic of American imperialism. Thus, in
this book we call attention to this legacy of American imperialism that has long shaped the
marginalization of people of color in the U.S. and beyond, and we seek essays that connect
domestic critiques of war with their global ramifications. This edited book project represents an
attempt to shape educational research and practice to more explicitly consider the relationship
between education, capitalism and war, and its’ impact on communities of color.
The triplets of racism, materialism, and militarism, which King referred, have not
diminished, but rather permeate all facets of U.S. society, including education. Scholars have
discussed these issues broadly and educational practitioners have attempted to redefine and
reorganize learning spaces as more humanizing—some of which have been immensely
successful. Nonetheless, in the current era of “post-race” racism, “post cold-war” transnational
capitalism, and “post 9-11” militarism, a clear articulation of the intersections of racism,
materialism and militarism with the educational experiences for students of color remains
marginal. We contend that the contemporary specter of war has become a central way that racism
and materialism become manifested and practiced domestically and globally. In particular, this
collection examines both domestic and global carcerality, and asserts that the contemporary
neoliberal characterization of education is situated within the global political economy that has
facilitated a growth in the prison and military industrial complex, and a simultaneous divestment
in education.
Themes and Goals
The heavy shadow cast by recent U.S.-led wars reorganizes sites of learning and teaching.
Nonetheless, the examination of this context is not enough. Rather, we consider how such a
contemporary context can facilitate educational spaces for communities and youth to grow their
vision for a different, and possibly a more humanizing, future. Thus, we hope that contributors
will collectively explore how resistance can produce the opportunity for rich, diverse and
transformative learning for marginalized students and communities.
We welcome submissions from practitioners and scholars of diverse methodological,
theoretical and disciplinary perspectives to present research on multiple aspects of the culture,
practices and materialization of war in the educational lives of youth. Topics may include, but
are not limited to:
● militarization of schools
● military recruitment on K-20 campuses
● school-to-prison pipeline
● practices of surveillance
● criminalization of youth
● zero-tolerance policies
Beyond the troubling manifestations of this reality, we encourage authors to highlight the ways
in which communities of color resist militarization and policing, and/or explore the ways in
which scholars, practitioners, and communities can work against a culture of war to create spaces
of hope.
Submission Procedure
We welcome abstracts (500 words max) or full length papers on or before January 3, 2014.
Abstracts should include an overview of the article which presents a clear relationship to a theme
or themes addressed in the call. Please email all queries and submissions to
Instruction for Authors
1. Manuscripts should be original, unpublished, and not under review by any journal or
publisher.
2. Manuscripts should be between 5,000 and 6,000 words, excluding references.
3. References and in-text citations should be prepared according to APA 6th edition
referencing style.
Important Dates
January 3, 2014 Abstract (or Paper) Submission Deadline
February 3, 2014 Notification of Acceptance
June 15, 2014 Full Chapter Submission
We expect this book to published in early 2016. We are currently in discussions with two
university presses who carry strong catalogues of both educational studies and ethnic studies
titles, in order for this book to be as widely accessible as possible when it comes to print. We are
happy to discuss this in more detail with prospective authors.
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