Term of Award

Spring 2024

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Curriculum Studies (Ed.D.)

Document Type and Release Option

Dissertation (restricted to Georgia Southern)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Digital Commons@Georgia Southern License

Department

College of Education

Committee Chair

John Weaver

Committee Member 1

Marla Morris

Committee Member 2

Ming Fang He

Committee Member 3

William Schubert

Committee Member 3 Email

schubert@uic.edu

Abstract

In this project, I argue that teaching in U. S. schools is the equivalent to teaching in Babylon. I use a bricolage approach to introduce the Rastafarian concept of Babylon and its existence within the postcolonial classroom as a system for the perpetuation of cultural and societal inequalities. By introducing the Jamaican concept of Babylon and its influence on cultures through art and reggae music, I lay the groundwork for research in curriculum studies by drawing parallels between colonialism (Edmonds, 1998) (Chevannes, 1994) (Hall, 2017) (Owens, 1976) (Edmonds, 1998), power (Foucault, 1995, Fiske, 2016), and the phenomenon of imitation and reproduction (Bowels & Gintis, 1976) that occurs in educational institutions. Through autobiographical and cultural study of contemporary U. S. classrooms, I examine the role reversal that occurs when students become teachers—a reversal that I term desk swapping. A unique and contemporary form of colonialism continues to operate in the classroom through the institutionalization of the teaching force. Grounded in power, normalization, and ideology, desk swapping perpetuates social and cultural reproduction. Despite a chorus of voices that claims otherwise, education is not a natural act. The final chapter provides suggestions for resistance.

OCLC Number

1432817317

Research Data and Supplementary Material

No

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