Embeddedness Discourses comprise perspectives on learning that refuse separations of self from other and individual from collective. Perceived boundaries among persons and peoples are understood as heuristic conveniences, as collective phenomena are recognized to unfold from and to be enfolded in individual phenomena. Phrased differently, collective forms are understood as learning bodies.
Learn More...Embodiment Discourses comprise perspectives on learning that refuse a separation of mental and physical. Mental and physical are understood as integrated and inseparable aspects of the body. Phrased differently, the body is not seen as something that a learner learns through, but as the learner. Correspondingly, behaviors are not seen as goals or indications of learning, but as integral elements of learning.
Learn More...Socio-Cultural Theory begins with the assertion that what is learnable begins as externalized possibilities, which learners gradually internalize through imitation of others, rehearsal with others, and other modes of participation in culturally relevant activities. Social interaction is thus stressed as prior and fundamental to cognition; consciousness and cognition are the products of socialization.
Learn More...Activist Discourses are focused on interrogating the entrenched narratives and structures that infuse, lend support to, and help to perpetuate social norms and cultural institutions. Oriented by the conviction that there are no “neutral” acts or ideas, and critically attentive to the collective roots of personal convictions, Activist Discourses aim for deep understandings in order to inform and orient justice-oriented thinking and acting.
Learn More...Post-Structuralism is a response to earlier theories. Asserting that neither underlying structures (i.e., Structuralism) nor subjective experience (i.e., Phenomenology) are adequate to understand the meaning and significance of an object, Post-Structuralism argues that such understanding entails interrogation/deconstruction of both what is present (i.e., the meaningful/significant object) and what is absent (i.e., the mostly implicit systems of knowledge that define the object and render it meaningful/significant).
Learn More...Proponents of Critical Pedagogy see formal education as inherently political – meaning that teaching and learning cannot be dissociated from issues of social justice. The overarching aim of Critical Pedagogy is the development of a “critical consciousness” – that is, awareness of the often-invisible connections between oppressions and the social, political, and cultural conditions that surround those oppressions.
Learn More...Focus
Gendered and sexualized norms that channel perceptions and perpetuate interpretations
Principal Metaphors
- Knowledge is … scope of interpretations and actions
- Knowing is … conscientious acting
- Learner is … a change agent (individual or collective)
- Learning is … interrogating (the conditions of one’s existence) and participating (in efforts to enact meaningful change)
- Teaching is … learning alongside (i.e., interrogating and co-participating)
Originated
1990s
Synopsis
Queer Pedagogy blends Critical Pedagogy and queer theory, both of which lean heavily on Marxism and Post-Structuralism, with common goals of interrogating pervasive social norms and taxonomies. Queer Pedagogy attends to some of the conditions that enable and constrain learning in the classroom, such as the role of identities, the teacher–student relationship, priorities and refusals evident in curricula, and the politics of bodies enacted (in washroom rules, gym classes, etc.). The theory is positioned as both criticism of and potential support to the work of educators.
Commentary
Included among Activist Discourses, Queer Pedagogy is subject to the same sorts of dismissive criticisms from parties offended and/or threatened by the challenges it presents to entrenched social norms and power structures. In addition, Queer Pedagogy is frequently criticized as obfuscating – as it, for example, signals a focus on gender identities in its name while asserting that “queer” is not specific to a sexual role or gender status.
Authors and/or Prominent Influences
Deborah Britzman; William Pinar
Status as a Theory of Learning
Queer Pedagogy is not a theory of learning, as it does not address the complex dynamics of learning.
Status as a Theory of Teaching
Queer Pedagogy is a theory of teaching that is oriented toward recognizing and taking constructive action against unhealthy power dynamics and other injustices.
Status as a Scientific Theory
Queer Pedagogy does not meet our requirements of a scientific theory. However, it is informed by well-known and empirically grounded theories Embodiment Discourses and Embeddedness Discourses, including most prominently Socio-Cultural Theory.
Map Location
Please cite this article as:
Davis, B., & Francis, K. (2020). “Queer Pedagogy” in Discourses on Learning in Education. https://learningdiscourses.com.
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