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
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
Catalog Permalink
https://galileo-georgiasouthern.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/permalink/01GALI_GASOUTH/1r4bu70/alma9916567549602950
Recommended Citation
Winkler, Adam A., "Rising From Babylon: (Post) Colonialism, Power in Schools, And Curriculum Studies" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2745.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/2745
Research Data and Supplementary Material
No