| Description |
'This project informs our understanding of how issues related to race and racialization are constructed through the use of language in higher education settings in Europe, using Norway as a case example. Study 1 compares race and racialization in classroom talk (discourse) in 2-4 university courses, both traditional lectures and dialogue-based courses. Study 2 explores personal stories (narratives) of university students, professors and staff from racial minority groups, creating new spaces for often-silenced voices. In a methodologically innovative move, the two studies are placed in ‘conversation,’ to understand how race and racialization discourse and personal narratives can ‘talk’ to each other to reveal the workings of ideology, agency and resistance. Based on previous research, the researcher anticipates race and racialization discourse to be hidden under more explicit talk about immigration, religion and nation. Higher education serves as a ‘laboratory’ for examining these issues. Although race and racialization discourse has been studied in schools and educational policy, there is a gap in higher education research in this area. Universities are important because the ideas developed and propagated in higher education influence the broader social context: university students are democratic participants who go on to take positions of power and academics shape public discourse. Finally, Norway is a strong case example for at least two reasons. First, Norway is one of the last countries in Europe to transition to a ‘multicultural’ state. Second, Norway’s wealth has largely protected the country from the economic hardship that has affected much of Europe, so it provides an opportunity to understand how race and racialization discourse is constructed in relatively low-stress circumstances. The Norwegian case can be used as a comparison to explore how issues of race and racialization are constructed in Europe and relate to minority residents’ personal narratives.'
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