New Mexico State English department adopts ‘anti-oppression’ curriculum framework
The Department of English says it will pursue 'antiracism' and revise course materials to confront 'white supremacy' in literature and scholarship.
The department outlines its agenda in an 'Anti-Oppression Statement.'
New Mexico State University’s Department of English provides faculty and students with an “Anti-Oppression Statement” that calls for a curriculum that “critically examines the racist history of the subdisciplines of English studies.”
The page on the Las Cruces-based university’s website sets goals for advancing anti-racism and combatting “white supremacy” as part of its “Anti-Oppression” framework.
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“The English department recognizes that systemic racism, more specifically white supremacy, remains pervasive in US society and education,” the page says. “This form of oppression, and the others with which it intersects, results in unequal access to social recognition, economic benefit, and political power.”
“As educators we have a special responsibility to challenge racism and work to make our institution a more equal and just environment,” the page continues. “The English department commits to an ongoing process of change towards antiracist goals, which reflect our departmental values and aspirations.”
School officials outline “Departmental administration and culture” goals that include efforts to: “Make antiracist work the responsibility of the whole department and recognize the unique and challenging demands often made of faculty of color.”
The department says its aims also include prioritizing “the safety of vulnerable bodies” and supporting “minority scholars and epistemologies” and “minority artists and their aesthetics.”
The page also states that the department’s anti-racist efforts extend to reforming its curriculum and course materials. The department aims to create a curriculum that “emphasizes the artistic and scholarly work of people of color” and “critically examines the racist history of the subdisciplines of English studies.”
According to the page, the department’s desired curriculum “directly and substantively confronts the racism and white supremacy in artistic and scholarly work of white US and European writers (canonical and not) in all subdisciplines.”
Campus Reform reported in August 2024 that New Mexico State’s College of Population Health offered students the opportunity to take the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) pledge.
The pledge prompted students to assist the college in “identifying and dismantling hate, oppression, systemic racism, and discrimination internally as well as externally.”
Campus Reform documented on Dec. 8 that the Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Writing Center highlights “Standard American English” in its fight against white supremacy.
The center urges professors to ask questions about their assignments such as “Is this antiracist?,” “How does this prompt fight white supremacy?,” and “Does this prompt exploit the students in any way?”
Campus Reform contacted New Mexico State University and the Department of English for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
