Let’s talk about race: considerations for course design in public administration

The chapter is a reflexive account of the author's experience of introducing race to public administration discussions. The first section of the chapter summarises the influence of critical race theory (CRT) in the pedagogic approach taken to teach an undergraduate course. Given the Black Lives Matter moment and impact of COVID, which has affected particular demographics more deeply, the author re-imagines the possibilities of teaching race to future public administrators with a specific focus on systemic racism. The second section introduces what critical race practice (CRP) is and puts forward counter storytelling and community service learning as pedagogies of engagement aligned to CRP. Having strategies for creating brave spaces for dialogue and managing students' resistance is vital for a learning environment to aid critical discussions on sensitive topics. Finally, this chapter considers whether the race of an instructor matters and concludes that expertise in critical race pedagogies is most important.