ABSTRACT
This chapter offers radical honesty as a concept that describes a pedagogical practice of truth-telling that seeks to challenge racist and patriarchal institutional cultures in the academy. It focuses on the cultures and processes that sometimes trigger encounters with shame. The forms of racism and sexism that permeate the academy frequently push women and scholars of color to question their sense of worth and belonging, which can lead to feelings of shame about perceived incapabilities. Radical honesty encourages the professor and students to cultivate trust in one another and build a community where truth-telling and vulnerability are valued. Radical honesty, as a politics of truth, is a feminist transgression of the highest order——it demands that scholars of color acknowledge the failings of an academic system with which we remain engaged, recognize our vulnerabilities, and most importantly, share——with colleagues and students——our strategies for self-care and self-love.
