Copyright 2015 by the National Art Education Association

Studies in Art Education: A Journal of Issues and Research

2015, 56(3), 214-227

“This Post Stereotypes: Deconstructing

Racial Assumptions and Biases Through
confrontational Visual Culture and Confrontational
style of teaching Pedagogy
YUHAJUNG
and learning The University of Kentucky

about difficult The Post Stereotypes project embodies

social issues is confrontational pedagogy and involves postcard
artmaking designed to both solicit expression of and
sometimes deconstruct students’ racial, ethnic, and cultural
stereotypes and assumptions. As part of the Cultural
painful and can Diversity in American Art course, students created
postcard art that visually represented their personal
cause stereotypes about Others, knowing that the
postcards would be anonymously and publicly
uncomfortable displayed. The result was a complex and
uncomfortable revelation of personal beliefs.
feelings. When Following the display, we discussed shared images in
class, and students wrote reflection papers exploring
this happens, how this project transformed their perceptions of

teachers are stereotypes. Students also made follow-up postcards

that focused on ways to deconstruct institutionalized

dealing with perceptions of Others. In this article, I present the

background, methodology, context, processes,

difficult knowledge.” analysis, and theories of Post Stereotypes. Using the

framework of critical race theory and difficult
knowledge and methodology of content analysis, I
theorize the project as confrontational pedagogy
that is critical and unknowable.

214 Jung / Post Stereotypes: Deconstructing Racial Assumptions and Biases

 Correspondence regarding this article may be addressed to the author at
yuha jung@uky edu
I
n 2007, a controversial incident occurred
in an art studio of the University of
Georgia’s (UGA) Lamar Dodd School of
Art. An apparently well-trained,
anonymous artist/vandal drew an image of
Sambo—an infamous Black stereotypical
caricature from the minstrel era—in the
middle of a previously vacant white wall,
creating a strong visual impact (Siegesmund,
2007) While most students did not
understand the history or meaning behind
the Sambo image, senior faculty members
recognized it immediately While the image
could have been an artistic appropriation or
a meaningless and naïve creation, most
considered it to be an intentionally offensive
act The university’s criminal investigation
department handled it as a hate crime
(Siegesmund, 2007)
The incident was not immediately or appropriately
seized as a teachable moment—a spontaneous and
powerful opportunity to engage the university
community in an important discussion of racial issues
(Siegesmund, 2007) We will never know how the
mindset of the community could have been enriched
if alternative interpretations of the art/vandalism had
been brought to light for public contemplation
Instead, the incident was treated as something “bad”
that had to be addressed by institutional measures
These events reflect the perspective that revealing
one’s racial prejudice is an aggressive act worthy of
criminal proceedings—but we can use them to
thoughtfully consider whether it is more beneficial
for racial stereotypes to remain silent in people’s
minds or to be spoken about only behind closed
doors or among people with shared views
Art educators and art education curricula
often omit controversial cultural, racial, and
ethnic issues (Cohen-Evron, 2005; Milbrandt,
2002) Adopting the null curriculum that fails
to include certain social issues and content is
a political decision—it sends a subliminal
message that masks and devalues alternative
views and reinforces existing social norms
(Cohen-Evron, 2005; Eisner, 1994; Nieto,
2000) This article explores an alternative
perspective—one that boldly acknowledges
the existence of racial, cultural, and ethnic
stereotypes Acknowledging one’s
stereotypes and assumptions about racial,
ethnic, and cultural backgrounds is a first step
to critically addressing and dismantling the
socially and institutionally constructed
practices of racism and discrimination,
leading to possible meaningful action and,
ideally, solidarity and coalition (Cohen-Evron,
2005; Knight, 2006b; Lee, 2013) I theorize this
approach to teaching as confrontational
pedagogy, based on critical race pedagogy,
which will be further discussed This article
comprises critical reflections of my pedagogy
and my students’ participation in class
activities that involved the use of visual
culture in the form of postcard images and
written reflection papers I consider my
students’ artmaking process and their
reflections to be visual culture because their
images and words are historically, politically,
and culturally constructed (Berger, 1977;
Carter, 2008)
Emerging Methodology
My need to write this research article
emerged organically as I started teaching at
UGA, having relocated to the southern United
States While I experienced subtle racial
prejudice in the northeastern US prior to my
move to Georgia, I met with hostile
comments from people I came across in the
south For instance, a White male professor
who has been working at UGA for over 20
years asked me, “China?” when first we
encountered When I said, “no,” he quickly
responded, “oh I know, Seoul, South Korea!”
He did not ask my name or where I was from;
he just assumed, solely based on my looks,
that I was from China and, if not, then I was
from Seoul Racism is not just a problem of
one university or of the south Rather, it is a
problem that is deeply embedded in the
history, culture, and institution of U S society
Studies in Art Education / Volume 56, No. 3 215
 After personally experiencing more obvious view certain images The constructivist
racism, I started to investigate the question: analysis process also helped me reexamine
How can I help make these problems visible the initial postcard analysis and come up with
and tackle them through critical pedagogies? counternarratives throughout the process
I started to collect students’ responses in Therefore, my analysis in this article is
class, assignments, and my own reflections in subjective based on my interpretations and
a form of journal as a teacher and participant those of my students I also analyzed my
in class discussions This collection became reflective journals of the project using the
the empirical materials for this research same process that helped me theorize the
While I focus in this article on a project that project as confrontational pedagogy and
dared to address and analyze this pressing acknowledge my own fear toward the
issue, this project is part of larger and ongoing unknowable results of the project
efforts to critically examine structured racial
Institutional, Classroom, and Personal
practices— and to find ways of challenging
Context of the Project
them
When talking about race in the classroom, the
I used qualitative content analysis to
institutional setting must be taken into consideration
identify the emerging themes of the
(Rothschild, 2003) For example, at a university in a
postcards and reflection papers that students
suburban area with a predominantly White student
submitted as part of this project, in addition
population, it may be important to introduce the
to a collection of my own reflections
concept of Whiteness in terms of race, ethnicity, and
Qualitative content analysis of texts and
cultural dominance before talking about racism and
images emphasized the capturing of
similar practices because White people may not see
meanings, patterns, and themes of messages
themselves as racial, ethnic, and cultural beings
that are inductively identified (Glaser &
(Rothschild, 2003) In an urban environment, on the
Strauss, 1967; Marsh & White, 2003; White &
other hand, where the student population is
Marsh, 2006) My analytical framework was
predominantly Black and/or Latino, it may be best to
constructivist educational theory in that I
first focus on gaining students’ trust through
treated my students’ responses, artworks,
discourse on institutional and individual racism
and face-to-face discussions as
(Rothschild, 2003) In any case, students may gain
coconstructed within and outside classroom
confidence that their perspectives will be valued if
settings that are influenced by their peers
they are invited to share their own experiences
and teachers, as well as their existing
related to race (Rothschild, 2003) It is important for
knowledge, experiences, and external
teachers to be explicitly open-minded about all
environments (Hein, 1998) Therefore, they
students’ experiences and levels of awareness about
were socially constructed, subject to change,
racial and social justice issues
and open to multiple interpretations
The majority of students and faculty members at
I started to read the texts and visuals in
UGA are White In 2012, 72% of the total
students’ postcards to process the meanings
undergraduate student population of UGA was made
represented on them and to identify
up of White students (Shearer, 2012) In the same
organically emerging themes using a hand-
year, 80% of the total UGA full-time faculty
drawn matrix Sometimes, it was easy to
population was White, followed by 9% Asian, 5 8%
identify meanings behind postcard images;
Black, and 3 4% Hispanic (Hollander, 2012) The
other times, it was open for interpretation
estimated population of Georgia presented by the
When an image was too abstract or difficult
United States Census Bureau (2013) indicates that 63
to understand, I eliminated it from the
2% of the broader state population is White, followed
analysis process Some written reflections by
by 31% Black, 3 4% Asian, and 9 1% Hispanic The
students aided the analytic processing of
socioeconomic background of student and faculty
images as they offered different angles to

216 Jung / Post Stereotypes: Deconstructing Racial Assumptions and Biases

population predominately represents the middle
class, creating a sharp contrast with the community
surrounding UGA in Athens, Clarke County The area
is the poorest county in Georgia, with 39% of its
population living in poverty (United States
Department of Agriculture, 2013) Thus, students and
faculty members at UGA are not representative of the
overall Georgia population In a predominantly White
populated university, race is rarely discussed One
reason for this is a widespread fear among students
and faculty that any remarks will be perceived as
racist (Rothschild, 2003) On the other hand, race is
not discussed because issues related to it might not
affect most people at the university, who are part of
the dominant culture
Although the majority of the 85 students enrolled
in ARTS 2050: Cultural Diversity in American Art
(during the Fall 2012 and Spring 2013 semesters)
were White, this class has tended to be more
culturally, ethnically, and racially diverse than the
broader university population The course explicitly
invites open and honest conversation about
controversial topics such as racism, sexism, and
similar practices through examining visual culture I
consciously strive to maintain a classroom
environment that is nonjudgmental and safe Some
discomfort and heated conversations are both
unavoidable and necessary because they challenge
and critically examine our assumptions
In addition to the institutional context, the
teacher’s racial, socioeconomic, and cultural
background should be considered when talking about
race in the classroom (Rothschild, 2003) As a Korean
woman, I may enjoy a certain unspoken
acknowledgment from students that I am qualified to
teach the course about cultural diversity However, I
am also vulnerable in the sense that their perception
of me as an outsider may lead them to believe that I
do not understand the social and cultural histories of
the US These unspoken assumptions act as both
advantages and disadvantages in connecting to
students My strategy is to gain trust and to eliminate
confusion by explicitly sharing my background,
experiences, privileges, and perspectives as a middle-
class Korean woman who is from Busan, South Korea;
earned her graduate degrees in the US; married a
White American man; and holds permanent resident
status Description of the Project
Post Stereotypes was intended to
encourage undergraduate students enrolled
in Cultural Diversity in American Art to reflect
on and discuss racial, ethnic, cultural, and
social justice issues The project was inspired
by PostSecret, an online community art
project created by Frank Warren Warren
initiated PostSecret in November 2004 by
distributing 3,000 self-addressed postcards
and inviting anyone to artistically represent a
personal secret on the postcard and return it
by mail (Motter, Jung, Lewis, Bloom, & Lin,
2012; Motter, 2011a; Warren, 2007) Since
2004, Warren has displayed the submitted
postcards on the PostSecret website every
week (www postsecret com) Secrets include
issues of death, religion, diversity, identity,
abortion, stereotypes, racism, sexism, and
other social issues (Motter, 2011b) The
anonymity allows participants to feel safe
about sharing their postcards publicly online
These contradictory features of PostSecret—
anonymity and public presentation—allow
those who create, view, and comment on the
postcards to see that the personal can be
political, and they realize that there are
Others who have similar or conflicting
concerns about social issues (Hanisch, 1969)
It is hoped that the resulting personal
reflection and dialogue may lead to
Figure 1. Post Stereotypes exhibition scenes in
February 2013.
positive transformative action on both
personal and community levels (Motter,
2011b; Warren, 2007)
Adapting this approach, the Post
Stereotype project asked students to submit
anonymous visual responses to the following
prompt: What are your stereotypes, biases,
and assumptions about the racial, ethnic, and
cultural backgrounds of Others or your own?
We installed them during class time in the Art
Education Gallery (see Figure 1) Students
were given 2 weeks to view the display and
Studies in Art Education / Volume 56, No. 3 217
 compose a reflection paper discussing what
they had learned from creating their own
postcard and viewing the postcards of Others
probing and sharing their innermost thoughts,
showing that some students relied on sources that
were not critically examined Despite these
difficulties, I am in favor of using anonymity for
this type of project in order to design a safe
environment for expression while minimizing
personal judgment of Others This project created
a space for the invisible to become visible in order
to spur morally serious conversation in that it
accomplished what was intended Pointing fingers
at individuals and their assumptions had no place
in this project For the follow-up postcard making
activity, students openly shared their images and
messages in front of the class

Analysis of Postcards, Written

Reflections, and Class Discussions
The predominant themes I identified from
postcards,1 written reflections, and class
discussions were: (1) gender roles and the
idealized women’s body image; (2) stereotypes of
different racial and cultural groups; (3) same-sex
Finally, we discussed the exhibition, postcard marriage and relationships; (4) privileges taken for
images, and our reflections in class, and we granted; (5) socially constructed stereotypes; and (6)
transformative thoughts that called for action
created another set of postcards in class in
response to another question: How can we
deconstruct our stereotypes, biases, and
assumptions about Others? These following
discussions and artmaking activity were
intended to critically examine our revealed
assumptions toward Others and find ways to
deconstruct them
Anonymity was an integral element of this project
The depth of engagement was made possible
because participants were free from the targeted
gazes or judgments of Others (Motter et al , 2012;
Warren, 2007) Quite simply, anonymity allowed a
form of freedom and sincerity of expression that is
impossible in face-to-face interaction or other forms
of communication where the creator of the
expression is identifiable (Williams, 2006) However,
anonymity might also have encouraged a few
students to depict exaggerated stereotypical images
because they knew they would not have to personally
defend those images Unfortunately, in spite of the
anonymity afforded to them, some co-opted
stereotypical images from the Internet instead of

218 Jung / Post Stereotypes: Deconstructing Racial Assumptions and Biases

 Figure 2 (left) and Figure 3 (right). Post Stereotypes postcard images, 2013.
A number of postcards critiqued the sexual
objectification of women’s bodies and stereotyped
gender roles For example, one postcard criticized the
socially constructed standard of beautiful women
being thin Another postcard read “How does my
dress fit?” next to an image of a woman with a cut-
out dress composed of a collage of words including
cute, perfect, fake breasts, diet, ruined, demanding,
and obsessive (see Figure 2) These words described
the oftencontradictory stereotypes of women
portrayed by popular media, putting heavy emphasis
on the physical appearance, body, and negative
images of women One student said in her reflection
paper:
The question “how does my dress fit?” serves
to emphasize the challenges women face in
fitting into the cultural ideals of their identity
This metaphorical dress often does not fit on
real women… she should wear the dress that
fits her and was made for her, instead of one
that fits nobody (February 26, 2013)
In addition, Figure 3 shared a stereotypical
view of successful women, who have to be
masculine in order to succeed in the business
world
The majority of the postcards submitted
pertain to stereotypes of racial and cultural
groups For instance, one postcard read, “All
Asians are intelligent, star student, and study
hard ” The lower part of the postcard had an
image of an older Asian man accompanied by
the text “You get two B(s) and you out of
house ” This postcard comments on the
positively conceived stereotype of Asian
people being good at math and schoolwork,
along with the societal pressure that derives
from it The card demonstrates that there are
no positive stereotypes, because not all Asian
people excel at schoolwork and the Asians
that do not fit into this stereotype suffer from
the pressure of their parents, teachers, and
society (University of British Columbia, n d )
One student wrote in her reflection paper:
Studies in Art Education / Volume 56, No. 3 219
 Figure 4. Post Stereotypes postcard images, 2013.
Figure 5. Post Stereotypes postcard images, 2013.
As an Asian, I think these assumptions give me
both advantages and disadvantages It helps
me because when I first meet people they tend
to think that I am a good student just because I
am an Asian girl However, it is really hard for
me to satisfy their high expectations (February
26,
2013)
Other stereotypes included Black males being
athletes or criminals, Mexicans being illegal
immigrants, and Christians being hypocrites One
postcard read, “All Hispanics are illegal aliens… ”;
thereby criticizing or acknowledging the view that all
Latin Americans in the
US are one homogeneous group (see Figure 4)
Several postcards dealt with issues of samesex
relationships One postcard read, “I want to be able
to live well and do exactly what I want to do; and
that’s not crazy,” accompanying a black and white
image of two males in suits surrounded by a white,
oval-shape picture frame with hearts around it
220 Jung / Post Stereotypes: Deconstructing Racial Assumptions and Biases
Another postcard portrayed a stereotypical view of
heterosexual dating opposed to an image of a same-
sex couple (see Figure 5) The postcard implied that
same-sex relationships are unacceptable and
difficult, whereas heterosexual relationships are the
unproblematic way to find love
A few students used their postcards to explore the
issue of White privilege For example, one postcard
read, “I am ashamed that I benefit from racism
because I am White but I’m scared for things to
change because I am afraid to lose those benefits ”
This postcard reflected the ambiguity some privileged
people experience when acknowledging their
advantages in a system of institutionalized racism
Another postcard (see Figure 6) showed a White Pac-
Man image that is about to swallow African, Mexican,
Asian, and Native American people depicted as
ghosts The Pac-Man represented White American
culture trying to annihilate or assimilate other
minority cultures One student wrote in response to
this postcard that:
Obviously the White Pacman [sic] represents a
White man in society and I

Figure 6. Post Stereotypes postcard images, 2013.
feel that this represents the White man trying
to change other races and ethnic cultures to be
just like him White people see their culture as
being superior and feel that any culture that is
not theirs is wrong and unnecessary (February
26, 2013)
Once I had identified these themes and read
students’ reflection papers, I facilitated a wholeclass
discussion on these presented stereotypes and issues
with them The emerging theme became how we
construct our assumptions and stereotypes toward
Others We discussed how we have learned these
stereotypes and how we have formed them Movies
and television shows, social media, news media, and
family members influenced most of the students’
assumptions We also talked about how our firsthand,
often brief, interactions with people who seem
different from us can be set in our minds as
stereotypes Students often shared that these images
represent only a fraction of what they experience on
a daily basis I encouraged students to share counter-
narrative stories to stereotypes or assumptions
depicted in the first set of postcards After
discussions, students started to recognize that it is
also possible to deconstruct and reconstruct
preconceived notions once we understood how they
were formed
Another class time was devoted to creating
postcards on ways to deconstruct our
preconceived notions about Others Some of
the postcards from this activity shared
messages that call for transformative action A
good example is a postcard that includes
images of people of different races in collage
along with general terms related to
participation and inclusion, such as “embrace,
mix, celebrate, who’s in, wake up… speak up
” A similar sentiment was expressed on the
postcard that stated, “Come together! Unite…
take a stand …” Another postcard spelled out:
“It’s only okay to claim ignorance It’s never
okay to continue ignorance Change yourself
The world may follow ” In addition, many
postcards and student reflections shared the
message that we need to take time to listen
to Others and strive to build genuine
relationships with them, regardless of their
cultural backgrounds
Theorizing Confrontational Pedagogy
I theorize Post Stereotypes as
confrontational pedagogy based on critical
race pedagogy Critical race pedagogy is based
on critical race theory concerning issues of
power and law related to race, gender, and
class inequity (Delgado, 1995; Harris, 1993;
Jennings & Lynn, 2005; Lynn, 1999) Critical
race pedagogy is committed to advancing
social justice through deconstructing
institutionalized racism and similar practices
through problematizing educational activities
that assume the existence of racial
hierarchies and oppression (hooks, 1993) It
criticizes and tears apart forms of pedagogy
that duplicate unjust social power relations,
but values diverse forms of pedagogical
practices that generate egalitarian social
power (Bizzell,
1991)
This approach is at the heart of my
pedagogical practice in that I seek to
problematize invisible social norms,
stereotypes constructed by popular media,
and institutionalized racism (Kraehe & Acuff,
2013) In public school and university settings,
the revelation of negative views toward
Others or discussion of sensitive issues such
as racism, sexism, classism, ableism, and
Studies in Art Education / Volume 56, No. 3 221
 other similar practices has been largely
discouraged White students and other
privileged populations seldom experience the
negative impact of racism in American society
and, therefore, may not recognize the value
of discussing racial and cultural diversity
issues in class (Bolgatz, 2005; Jhally, 2008;
Rothschild, 2003; Tatum, 1997) According to
Bolgatz (2005), this freedom to ignore or
naturalize Whiteness as a norm has also been
a form of White privilege It has perpetuated
a pedagogy that duplicates unjust social
power relations (Knight, 2006a)
It is important not only to make these
stereotypes and assumptions visible through
public display of ideas, but also to dismantle
them through class discussions and written
reflections These stereotypes and
assumptions are rooted in historical, cultural,
and social practices; therefore, they require
critical, deep examination (Freedman, 2000;
Giroux, 1993) When we silence our students,
this illuminating pedagogical practice simply
cannot happen (Giroux, 1993) We need to
confront the multiple realities and illusions of
our students through an examination of why
we have certain assumptions and how we can
deconstruct them in the direction of
democracy and justice for all (Bizzell, 1991;
Giroux, 1993; hooks, 1994)
This confrontational style of teaching and
learning about difficult social issues is
sometimes painful and can cause
uncomfortable feelings When this happens,
teachers are dealing with difficult knowledge
(Britzman, 1998; CohenEvron, 2005; Frenkel,
2007; Pitt & Britzman, 2003) Difficult
knowledge is concerned with addressing
traumatic social issues, such as genocide and
ethnic hatred, in curriculum and the full
emergence of the learner that results from
encountering these issues (Britzman, 1998;
Frenkel, 2007; Pitt & Britzman, 2003)
Because of the difficult emotional feelings
that are associated with this knowledge, we
need to create an alternative environment
where students can learn from (as opposed
to learn about) traumatic historical events
222 Jung / Post Stereotypes: Deconstructing Racial Assumptions and Biases
and other contemporary struggles (Britzman,
1998) This form of pedagogy is not meant to
lead students to a single, shared
chronological understanding of the events
Nor is it intended to end at mere sympathy or
hope Rather, it aims to foster an
understanding of difficult events as constant
and dynamic interferences that are
interpreted differently depending on
individuals’ realities and identities (Britzman,
1998) In other words, confronting difficult
knowledge is not about providing students
with one conclusion or closure Instead, it
encourages students to deeply explore the
perspectives of Others and to develop their
own informed perspectives that may lead,
ultimately, to the transformation of their
worldviews
According to hooks (1994), some degree of pain is
involved when confronting and negotiating difficult
knowledge that leads one to recognize the need to
give up his or her old ways of thinking and knowing A
paradigm shift in personal thinking is usually
distressing However, this does not mean that it is
harmful for students in the long term hooks (1994)
shared her story of teaching difficult knowledge in
her classroom: At first, some of her students
responded that the material was irrelevant and
uncomfortable, but many years later the same
students— those who had complained the most—
returned to tell her how much they had grown as a
result of the class Resistance, pain, and discomfort
are all signs of change and paradigm shifts hooks’
anecdote also nicely illustrates that the goal of
confrontational pedagogy is not to generate short-
term outputs but, rather, to bring about long-term
outcomes that we may never know and cannot
control This leads us to the concept of pedagogy of
the unknowable (Ellsworth,
1989)
One assumption of confrontational pedagogy is
that we all have assumptions and biases about Others
Our oppressed knowledge is always incomplete
because we are self-interested and not fully aware of
the voices of Others (Ellsworth, 1989) For
confrontational pedagogy to be effective, both the
teachers’ and students’ assumptions must be
acknowledged and questioned For example, we
cannot assume that White students are blind to their
own race and privileges or that they never experience
forms of reverse discrimination, just as we cannot
assume that all minority students have a solid
understanding of racial implications Both groups are
the oppressed and oppressive depending on different
historical, social, cultural, economic, and political
contexts (Ellsworth, 1989) The long-term effect of
confrontational pedagogy that involves difficult
knowledge is unknowable, because it involves a
constant, evolving struggle to challenge assumptions
and gain new perspectives, which will then need to
be challenged again in light of new knowledge and
experience It does not aim simply to place difficult
knowledge on display as spectacle (Frenkel, 2007)
but, rather, to initiate among students an ongoing
struggle and examination of difficult knowledge that
will continue long after the course has ended
Critique of Post Stereotypes
Post Stereotypes appeared at first glance to be a
spectacle of stereotypes, because of the visibility of
stereotypes displayed in a public space Just showing
and repeating stereotypes without further
examination and discussion would actually hurt our
society, as is often done in popular and social media
In fact, as discussed above, Britzman (2003) argued
that when dealing with difficult knowledge, mere
repetition of events does not help us understand our
moral dilemmas we encounter on a daily basis
Difficult knowledge is “a path through an ongoing
sequence of moral dilemmas” and is never as simple
as representation of facts (Frenkel, 2007, p 129)
Also, the pedagogy of the unknowable cannot be
achieved from mimesis of the existing power
structures (Ellsworth, 1997; Garoian & Gaudelius,
2008), which would have been perpetuated through
some of the stereotypical images created by my
students Therefore, Britzman, Frenkel, and Ellsworth
might argue that revealing stereotypes is not
pedagogically sound, because it may look like it
repeats the hurtful depictions of Others
However, this first step of revealing is a
very important aspect of my project because
these troubling assumptions are rarely talked
about in educational settings (Cohen-Evron,
2005; Milbrandt, 2002) where we can
effectively foster, as Gurian said, “safe places
for unsafe ideas” (as cited in Cameron, 2003,
p 41) In addition, considering the unique
context of the university being predominantly
privileged cultural space, revelation of
troubling assumptions is almost nonexistent;
therefore eliminating discussions of racial
issues When such assumptions are shared
only through closed circles or social media,
where conversations may be superficial and
noncritical, we do not question the dangers in
the structured power relation of the
oppressor and oppressed; therefore, the
social status quo is preserved and
unquestioned (Freire, 1968/2009)
Sustainable liberation can only happen
“through action in depth that the culture of
domination is culturally confronted” (Freire,
1968/2009, p 54) For these reasons, I risked
emphasizing the first step of displaying and
confronting our stereotypes in public,
educational space, where these
confrontations can lead to transformative
action
In addition, Post Stereotypes did not just
end at revealing our assumptions toward
Others, but included class discussions of
social construction of racism and
reexamination of presented images After the
hurtful postcard images were revealed and
critically examined, we created counter-
narratives to those depictions and even
interpreted the very same postcard with
different angles in the way that collage as
critical pedagogy implies (Garoian &
Gaudelius, 2008) Garoian and Gaudelius
(2008) differentiated collage as pastiche from
collage as critical device to examine
institutionalized visual culture The former
emphases repetition of superficial difficult
knowledge while the latter encourages
participants’ critical reflexivity “to create
images and ideas based on their differing
cultural perspectives” (p 97) The initial
display of stereotypes were collage as
pastiche, but after the discussions and
challenges from multiple perspectives as well
as follow-up postcard making activity that
encouraged deconstruction of initial views,
Studies in Art Education / Volume 56, No. 3 223
 the confrontational pedagogy embraced would spark valuable conversation, I was
collage as critical pedagogy to disturb concerned about the consequences of the
commercialized visual culture, racism, and possible depiction of hurtful or hateful
other oppressive practices My hope and images My greatest fear, perhaps, was that I
conviction is that its greater value lies in the might upset the university administration in a
sustainable critical thinking skills that were way that could negatively impact my future
practiced through the process of challenging employment opportunities
personal beliefs and hegemonic social norms, In response to my fear, I originally told the class
therefore inviting multiple interpretations of that I would censor postcards if I found any content
our daily encounters with difficult knowledge to be too hurtful or insensitive; in hindsight, it is clear
that with this proclamation I channeled the
Reflections of Post Stereotypes
hegemonic authority I had intended to undermine
Students’ reflection papers and class
Fortunately, the insightful responses of two of my
discussions indicated that they found the
students led me to change course After I stated my
project to be thought provoking, eye
intent, they approached me to say that censoring the
opening, and unsettling The experience
postcards would compromise the integrity of the
enabled a number of students to recognize
project as being anonymous and completely open
how media, history, family, and regional
They encouraged me to display every postcard—
cultures had shaped certain shared
regardless of how controversial or offensive it may
stereotypes (Barthes, 1977; Ulbricht, 2003)
be—because it is only through confronting
Viewing the stereotypical images on display
uncomfortable perceptions that we begin to address
and critically talking about the formation of
them If I had decided not to display several postcards
those ideas in class helped students
because of their controversial content, I would not
recognize how silly it is to think that all
have been standing by my promise I would be
women cannot drive or are not intelligent,
conceding my belief that uncomfortable
that all Asians are good at math and
confrontation could help us access the damaging
schoolwork, that all Blacks are good at sports,
effects of stereotypes and lead us to meaningful,
or that all Whites are arrogant Some
educational dialogue and transformative acts It was
students mentioned that while they had
a wake-up call and a teachable moment for me, and I
formerly believed that they did not hold
decided to embrace the risk My fear of confronting
stereotypical beliefs or assumptions about
difficult knowledge was exposed and the dilemma it
other people, the project helped them to see
created compelled me to challenge my own thoughts
that this was not entirely true The
and to change my actions
introspection required by the assignments
I overcame my fear of the unknowable,
provided an unfamiliar opportunity for some
maintaining that the uncertainty, risks, and
to be honest, especially with themselves, and
discomfort of genuine dialogue are outweighed by its
to be cognizant of how they form their ideas
opportunities In fact, we may even learn to welcome
The fact that several students felt more
the discomfort that accompanies such risky
liberated to share their innermost opinions
pedagogies in recognition that it is only through
because of the anonymity in class brought up
contentious and open discourse that we can find new
the issue of vulnerability While I cannot
meaning, deconstruct our misconceptions, and
speak for my students, I share my own
understand each other more fully—as complex
experience of vulnerability as it pertains to
human beings—and not be consumed by
this project When I first decided to carry out
commercialized visual culture Conclusion
Post Stereotypes at UGA, I was afraid about
how it would be received In spite of my I believe in inviting sincere, confrontational
conviction that an opportunity to reveal dialogue Although such interaction involves risk and
uncomfortable assumptions about Others causes discomfort, pretending that we do not have

224 Jung / Post Stereotypes: Deconstructing Racial Assumptions and Biases

assumptions and not knowing how they are formed is misguidedly “protecting” people from the
more dangerous It allows problems to remain ugly aspects of American history—including
underground, shielded from challenge The Sambo genocide and slavery—will eliminate
story puts on display the missed opportunity for collective understanding and growth as a
growth that can result when people allow their fear human race However, when public schools,
universities, teachers, students, and
community members take responsibility for
acknowledging and bravely confronting the
subtle and deeply rooted problems of
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226 Jung / Post Stereotypes: Deconstructing Racial Assumptions and Biases

ENDNOTE
1
All postcard images in this article are from the Spring 2013 class I also share descriptions of some of postcards from
the Fall 2012 class, as I find them to be particularly thoughtful and reflective

Studies in Art Education / Volume 56, No. 3 227

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