Antar A. Tichavakunda received his Ph.D. in Urban Education Policy from the University of Southern California. Currently, he is an Assistant Professor of Education at the University of Cincinnati. Born and raised in Washington, DC, Tichavakunda is a product of DC Public Schools and earned a Bachelor of Arts in Education Studies from Brown University. Prior to his doctoral studies, Tichavakunda worked as an 11th grade English teacher in DC Public Schools. Using qualitative inquiry, Tichavakunda has engaged in research on college readiness, Black students’ experiences at predominantly White institutions, and more broadly the sociology of race and higher education. His published work can be found in Urban Education, Educational Policy, Race Ethnicity and Education, The Review of Higher Education, and Educational Studies. Tichavakunda enjoys military pressing, incline bench pressing, and avoiding leg-day at all costs. He enjoys his grits savory, with salt, and is trying to make peace with people who eat their grits with sugar.
“Each Day is a New Labor”
What can Black Campus Life Teach us About Pedagogy?
The Critical Race Theorist, Patricia J. Williams closes an essay in her The Alchemy of Race and Rights by saying, “Nothing is simple. Each day is a new labor.” Creating an inclusive, affirming classroom is neither simple nor a destination—it is a process that requires labor. Drawing from Critical Race Thought, his book Black Campus Life: The Worlds Black Students Make at a Historically White Institution, and his experience studying race in higher education across the country, Tichavakunda will discuss the complexity of race in higher education and offer different practices and questions that we might wrestle with in our labor to create more inclusive sites of learning.
Pedagogy Matters 