Contemporary Canadian blackface鈥攖hat is, instances where white persons darken their skin with make-up to represent black persons in the context of fun and听humour鈥攈ave become a notable phenomenon, particularly on Canadian university campuses and in entertainment venues.听These incidents 补谤别听particularly interesting because 1) they are visually听reminiscent of, and often compared with, blackface minstrelsy performances of a more overtly racist historical period,听and 2)听mainstream discourse in Canada suggests that听racism has had little relevance in its history, and that whatever racism there may have been has been overcome.听 Both of these ideas emerge in the contentious public debates that take place each听time a blackface incident occurs.听
This听research project sees contemporary Canadian blackface as a particularly generative site for understanding the听肠辞尘辫别迟颈苍驳听ways听in which social subjects听in Canada define,听颈诲别苍迟颈蹿测听and justify racism, ostensible听humour, and its intersections.听听It is part of my broader research interest in understanding听the ways听in which听racially inequitable social structures and discourses of race organize how we come to know ourselves, ascribe meaning, and exercise agency for social change in schools and broader educational contexts.听 听
The听objectives of this research听补谤别听迟丑别谤别蹿辞谤别听迟辞听1) analyze the discursive context(s) within which these blackface incidents are performed, articulated, justified, and apologized for in听contemporary Canad补;听2) explore how claims 迟辞听humour听function rhetorically to allow particular forms of racial knowing and not knowing; 3) understand how the colonial tropes of racism on which these acts seem to draw are,听or are not, learned, recognized, and forgotten; 4) explore the diverse ways in which these acts are experienced by black persons amid dominant claims to the diminishing significance of race.听
This research was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.
Data听sources are:听
1) print and electronic media articles about Canadian blackface incidents.
2) reader comments on these articles, where available.
3) semi-structured interviews with administrators, staff, and faculty at university sites where blackface incidents have occurred recently.听
4)听focus听groups with students听at university sites where blackface incidents have occurred recently.听
The study听will:
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contribute 迟辞听the literature on听post-racialist discourse,听drawing attention to the Canadian national context that is often overlooked in听this literature.
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increase our understanding of the roots of racial听humour, and听the social relations that produce blackface in听Canada.听听听
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make recommendations about how the blackface issue听might be more effectively addressed on university campuses.听
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increase our understanding the strategies that听black communities on university campuses听and beyond use to challenge blackface and to mitigate its negative impacts on them.听听
Contact: Philip Howard, PhD
