This paper proposes a pedagogical material that focuses on a poem, and follows principles of anti-racist education bringing intersectionality of race/ethnicity and gender into play. Tasks analyze racist and sexist situations experienced by the character and study language use within poetry, and production tasks foster diverse encounters and visibility.
Anti-racist education has powerful potential for language teaching by providing teachers with guidelines to explore values and beliefs in order to comprehend racism and its effects (Cavalleiro, 2001). Within anti-racist education, intersectionality proposed by black feminist authors (Crenshaw, 1989; Collins, 2009) holds prominent value. By aligning praxis with anti-racist education and bringing intersectionality into play, language teaching becomes a form of intervention through which critical problem-posing approach is favored (Freire, 1996). This paper proposes and analyzes a pedagogical material that uses literature to engage learners in diverse sociocultural realities in Portuguese as a Foreign Language (PFL) classes. The material focuses on a poem by Elisa Lucinda, a black female writer from Brazil, and follows principles of anti-racist education by creating opportunities for students to reflect on the outcomes of intersectionality of race/ethnicity and gender. The tasks in the material examine racist and sexist situations experienced by the character and her reactions and investigate play on words and vowel and consonant repetition. The production tasks propose the recitation of the poem and the creation of a campaign about black women and their contributions to different fields. This paper suggests different ways to address principles of anti-racist education and intersectionality with the use of poems. The pedagogical material presents a critical thinking approach by using literature as a means to foster visibility of diverse authors and stories and to contribute to democratic culture. Cavalleiro, E. (2001). Racismo e anti-racismo na educação [Racism and anti-racism in education]. Selo Negro. Collins, P. H. (2009). Black feminist thought. Routledge. Crenshaw, K. 1989. Demarginalizing the intersection of race and sex: a black feminist critique of antidiscrimination doctrine, feminist theory and antiracist politics. The University of Chicago Legal Forum, 1989(1), 139-167. Freire, P. (1996). Pedagogia da Autonomia [Pedagogy of Autonomy]. Paz e Terra.
