Toward the Transparency of Symbolic Violence in Developmental English at Urban-Serving Community Colleges: A Thought Experiment

Abstract Developmental English in urban-serving community colleges was considered as the site where racial and ethnic minority students who are deemed underprepared for college must learn the white, middle-class literacy conventions valued in higher education. The idea of symbolic violence—the systematic devaluation of one’s culture—was used as a theoretical framework to synthesize the available evidence of students’ learning experiences in these courses. A thought experiment suggested that making transparent the symbolic violence that students experience would likely (a) shape more effective course designs and pedagogies, (b) encourage students’ autonomous learning behaviors, and (c) dignify both the professors and students in these courses.