Dr. Marcus Croom, "Collaborating Toward Post-White Fields"

Abstract:  This keynote will traverse two inquiries: First, is the field of Education in the United States of America still a viable field for critical inquiry and practice, especially post-White oriented inquiry and practice (Croom, 2020; Croom et al., 2020; Croom, 2022; Compton-Lilly et al., 2023)? If not, what other fields remain viable for critical inquiry and practice in the USA? Second, within and across those fields that are viable for post-White oriented inquiry and practice, how would collaboration toward post-White fields begin? Dr. Marcus Croom will propose at least seven practices to begin answering the second question while inviting dialogue with Thomas R. Watson Conference participants as they propose their own answers to the first question.

About the Speaker: Marcus Croom, Ph.D., author of Real Talk? How to Discuss Race, Racism, and Politics in 21st Century American Schools, is assistant professor of Literacy, Culture, and Language Education and adjunct assistant professor of African American and African Diaspora Studies at Indiana University Bloomington (IUB). His life’s work is improving living and learning within racialized societies. As a race critical researcher, he typically generates knowledge through practice of race theory (PRT), case study, and qualitative methods, especially race critical practice analysis.

Croom's noted publications include: “Review and scholarly synthesis as anti-racist action” (2023), “Reimagining LRA in the spirit of a transcendent approach to literacy” (2023), "Peer-reviewed article: Conferencing toward racial literacies from the post-White orientation" (2022), “A race critical peer commentary with the post-White orientation: A commentary on ‘Undoing competence: Coloniality, homogeneity, and the overrepresentation of Whiteness in applied linguistics’” (2022), “Black Lives Matter panel: A generous invitation to The Archive” (2021), “A case study from Barracoon: The story of the last ‘Black Cargo' with practice of race theory” (2020), “Literacies of interrogation and vulnerability: Reimagining preservice teacher preparation designed to promote social justice in education” (2019), “Reading: 'The crisis in Black education' from a post-White orientation” (2016), and “Racial literacies: Just reading and writing is deadly in America” (2016).

Croom’s scholarship is available at ResearchGate. His 2022 article, "Peer-reviewed article: Conferencing toward racial literacies from the post-White orientation," was part of a special issue based on the 2021 Watson Conference on antiracist practices in conference design.