Decolonizing the Mental Lexicon: Critical Whiteness Studies Perspectives in the Language Classroom

Maureen Gallagher; Christin Zenker

doi:10.1007/978-3-030-34342-2_7

Decolonizing the Mental Lexicon: Critical Whiteness Studies Perspectives in the Language Classroom

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review

Abstract

What does it mean to teach German as a foreign language in a US classroom? What is foreign and what is not, who is foreign and who is not, who is an insider and who is an outsider? This essay serves to decolonize German Studies by bringing a Critical Whiteness Studies perspective to the field of second language acquisition and into the German classroom. The two parts of this essay address theoretical considerations drawn from critical pedagogy and critical theory, in particular Critical Whiteness Studies and offer concrete activities for an intermediate or advanced German classroom that highlights the importance of reflectivity and positionality. In a multi-class lesson focused on the concepts of AuslÃ¤nder, Heimat, Leitkultur, and ReprÃ¤sentation as seen through the films Yes I Am! (Sven Halfar, 2007) and AuslÃ¤nder raus! Schlingensiefs Container (Paul Poet, 2002) students will explore competing discourses about foreignness in diverse German-language contexts.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Diversity and Decolonization in German Studies
Editors	Regine Criser & Ervin Malakaj
Place of Publication	Switzerland
Publisher	Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Pages	119-137
Volume	1
Edition	1
ISBN (Print)	978-3-030-34341-5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-34342-2_7
Publication status	Published - 13 Feb 2020

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10.1007/978-3-030-34342-2_7

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title = "Decolonizing the Mental Lexicon: Critical Whiteness Studies Perspectives in the Language Classroom",

abstract = "What does it mean to teach German as a foreign language in a US classroom? What is foreign and what is not, who is foreign and who is not, who is an insider and who is an outsider? This essay serves to decolonize German Studies by bringing a Critical Whiteness Studies perspective to the field of second language acquisition and into the German classroom. The two parts of this essay address theoretical considerations drawn from critical pedagogy and critical theory, in particular Critical Whiteness Studies and offer concrete activities for an intermediate or advanced German classroom that highlights the importance of reflectivity and positionality. In a multi-class lesson focused on the concepts of Ausl{\~A}¤nder, Heimat, Leitkultur, and Repr{\~A}¤sentation as seen through the films Yes I Am! (Sven Halfar, 2007) and Ausl{\~A}¤nder raus! Schlingensiefs Container (Paul Poet, 2002) students will explore competing discourses about foreignness in diverse German-language contexts.",

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Decolonizing the Mental Lexicon: Critical Whiteness Studies Perspectives in the Language Classroom. / Gallagher, Maureen; Zenker, Christin.
Diversity and Decolonization in German Studies. ed. / Regine Criser & Ervin Malakaj. Vol. 1 1. ed. Switzerland: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2020. p. 119-137.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter › peer-review

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AB - What does it mean to teach German as a foreign language in a US classroom? What is foreign and what is not, who is foreign and who is not, who is an insider and who is an outsider? This essay serves to decolonize German Studies by bringing a Critical Whiteness Studies perspective to the field of second language acquisition and into the German classroom. The two parts of this essay address theoretical considerations drawn from critical pedagogy and critical theory, in particular Critical Whiteness Studies and offer concrete activities for an intermediate or advanced German classroom that highlights the importance of reflectivity and positionality. In a multi-class lesson focused on the concepts of AuslÃ¤nder, Heimat, Leitkultur, and ReprÃ¤sentation as seen through the films Yes I Am! (Sven Halfar, 2007) and AuslÃ¤nder raus! Schlingensiefs Container (Paul Poet, 2002) students will explore competing discourses about foreignness in diverse German-language contexts.

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Decolonizing the Mental Lexicon: Critical Whiteness Studies Perspectives in the Language Classroom

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