VIRTUAL New Schools of Thought

Abstract

As a feminist teacher, I always encourage students to challenge hierarchies between body/mind, private/public, and passion/intellect. I ask them to understand their “education as an explicit political project” and to see the classroom as a “location of possibility,” particularly in the face of neoliberal logics (Alexander 2005; hooks 1994). For those of us learning and teaching at the intersections of multiple oppressions, there are multiple costs and rewards when we engage in this work, and they span various dimensions of our lives. The professional and the personal are intertwined, particularly as we navigate bringing ourselves into the classroom, as we seek to teach content, model processes for students, and foster connection and empathy among our students toward themselves and each other. During and after the Covid pandemic, educational institutions focused on “care” pedagogy. Due to the demands of the pandemic, the tumult experienced by institutions and the changing demography, care, and inclusive pedagogies have become a new monetizing avenue for the university. However, I question the “mainstreaming” of “care” pedagogy. How do we get the university to value inclusive and engaged pedagogy? How do we fortify our position in this institution without compromising on the radical potential of a feminist education? In this presentation, I discuss 1) how educational institutions appropriate inclusive and engaged pedagogy, 2) students’ reactions to passionate pedagogy, and 3) how we practice feminist pedagogy with vulnerability and without fear.