Monica Edwards' Pedagogies of Silence at CAST 2025

I was proud and humbled to be a facilitator for the 18th year of the Chicago Area Sociology Teachers (CAST) conference. I am humbled to be around such thoughtful and dedicated teachers teachers - none more-so than my co-facilitator Hayley Lotspeich.  

Our keynote speaker was Monica Edwards who presented on her research and pedagogy published in her book, Pedagogies of Silence. Teachers and professors - I can't recommend this book enough! Her book is both a sociological study and a book about pedagogy. 

With an extensive review of literature interwoven with Edwards' own research and experiences in the class, she interrogates the insatiable need to create class discussion in an era where students are increasingly quiet and teachers are increasingly frustrated. Her book is a call to step back and rethink what our goal is in the classroom and how this goal has often been misled by our own socialization. Often, that socialization leads teachers to silence students, especially those from marginalized identities, but Edwards helps teachers think strategically about their practices so that they limit these implicit slights.

I highly recommend her book for all teachers and administrators but it is especially relevant for anyone teaching:
a required class
a class that includes students with marginalized identities
sociology classes
introductory classes