Not Everyone Gets a Seat at the Table!: Responding to the Language Games of Diversity

Abstract

Teaching issues of diversity, privilege, equity, and equality occupies a precarious but indispensable position given the increasing tensions between so-called “liberal” institutions of education and conservative politics. Over the past decade, as social justice movements have gained momentum, we have simultaneously witnessed the language of equality and inclusion become co-opted for the purposes of ensuring white-supremacist, patriarchal, and capitalist dominance. With this reformulation of progressive rhetoric to serve racist, xenophobic, and sexist ends, how do we as educators communicate to students the importance of diversity and equality while simultaneously critiquing the language games played by those who use progressive narratives as a Trojan horse of social justice? This chapter was generated from the experiences of two teacher educators, who are also scholars in the field of critical discourse analysis. They propose subverting rhetoric launched against social justice efforts—repackaging the Trojan horse and sending it back—in order to reconfigure language of inclusion/exclusion, equality/equity, and free/hate speech. The purpose of preparing future teachers for the growing complexity of interdiscursive language games is to empower them to navigate educational settings that are becoming simultaneously more diverse and yet more restricted in terms of the conversations that can take place.