A conversation on practices of the self within relations of power: for scholars who speak dangerous truths

Through the voices of scholars and metalogues, this paper merges the experiences of five professors of education who disrupt the status quo with Foucault’s scholarship on practices of the self and parrhesia (the speaking of dangerous truths). The scholars challenge hegemony in education and its effects on students of color and students with limited economic resources. Their voices, presented as narratives in the text, are based on interviews with the professors. Metalogues, imagined conversations with Foucault, are used to illustrate the ways this paper draws on Foucault’s scholarship. Attention is paid to how the scholars practice technologies of the self within relations of power through three lenses (1) self‐knowledge: resisting repression, seduction and desire, (2) political activity and tactics, and (3) the self within systems of subjugation. A metalogue for scholars interested in advocating for social justice that supports the interests of local communities in urban environments ends the article.