Dr. Leonardo will present “Understanding Anti-Blackness in Education Through the Work of Frantz Fanon and W.E.B. Du Bois”
The School of Education and Human Development is pleased to welcome Professor Zeus Leonardo, PhD, University of California, Berkeley School of Education, to deliver a keynote for the annual Diversity Lecture Series. This event will be held on Thursday, March 9, 2023 at 5 p.m. in the Oak Room in the Barone Campus Center and is free and open to the public. Registration is required.
Dr. Leonardo’s conversation is titled “Understanding Anti-Blackness in Education Through the Work of Frantz Fanon and W.E.B. Du Bois.” Much of Dr. Leonardo’s work is interdisciplinary and draws insights from sociology, contemporary philosophy, and cultural studies. In particular, he draws from critical theories to inform his analysis of the relationship between education and social relations including race, class, culture, and gender. During the lecture Dr. Leonardo will explore topics including anti-blackness as a structural impediment rather than a psychological problem at the interpersonal level, metaphors as powerful devices through which to pose educational problems, and theorizing, when done appropriately, as a concrete activity rather than an abstract exercise.
“Fanon and Du Bois are scholars whose work on the problem of racism has been generative for education,” said Dr. Leonardo. “My presentation will compare the conceptual innovations that Fanon and Du Bois use to describe the imposition of a white world on Black people.”
Dr. Leonardo is professor and former associate dean of education, and faculty of the Program in Critical Theory. He is a fellow of the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and former vice president of AERA’s Division G, Social Context of Education. Dr. Leonardo has received several recognitions, including the Derrick Bell Legacy Award from the Critical Race Studies in Education Association and the Scholars of Color Distinguished Career Contribution Award from AERA. He has authored or edited ten books including Race Frameworks; the 2nd edition of Education and Racism (with Norton Grubb); Race, Whiteness and Education; and his most recent book, Edward Said and Education.
Following Dr. Leonardo’s lecture will be a panel discussion and attendee Q&A.
