dysconsciousness

English

Etymology

From dys- +‎ consciousness or dysconcious +‎ -ness. Coined by academic Joyce Elaine King in 1991 (see quotation).

Noun

dysconsciousness (uncountable)

1. (chiefly sociology) A state of impaired or distorted consciousness or awareness, especially in regards to social issues.
   • 1991 Spring, Joyce E[laine] King, “Dysconscious Racism: Ideology, Identity, and the Miseducation of Teachers”, in Journal of Negro Education, volume 60, number 2, Washington, D.C.: Howard University, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 135:

     Dysconsciousness is an uncritical habit of mind (including perceptions, attitudes, assumptions, and beliefs) that justifies inequity and exploitation by accepting the existing order of things as given. If, as Heaney (1984) suggests, critical consciousness "involves an ethical judgement [sic]" about the social order, dysconsciousness accepts it uncritically.

   • 2005, Michael W. Apple, Jane Kenway, Michael Singh, editors, Globalizing Education: Policies, Pedagogies, & Politics, New York, N.Y.: Peter Lang, →ISBN, page 75:

     Subscribing to lifelong learning policies does not mean that we also have to subscribe to the language of racism that flows beneath its surface. If there are possibilities for rupturing the fault lines of "dysconsciousness," there are also possibilities for reinscribing racialized discourses and practices.

   • 2021, Shannon R. Waite, “Disrupting Dysconsciousness: Confronting Anti-Blackness in Educational Leadership Preparation Programs”, in Journal of School Leadership, volume 31, numbers 1–2, Thousands Oaks, C.A. […]: SAGE Publishing, →DOI, →ISSN, →OCLC, pages 78–79:

     I have shared liberatory practices that have helped to move students preparing for leadership positions in education towards disrupting their own dysconsciousness about issues of race.

Related terms

• dysconscious