Topics in Gender and Sexuality Studies (390-0-1)
Topic
Race, Gender, Justice & Ethics: Reframing Researc
Instructors
Alyssa Garcia
Meeting Info
Kresge Centennial Hall 2-329: Tues, Thurs 10:00AM - 12:30PM
Overview of class
Topic: Race, Gender, Justice & Ethics: Feminist Reframings of Research, Teaching, Learning.
This course is designed to explore debates within and about Critical Race Feminist pedagogy, research, methodology and writing. We will explore the politics and production of knowledge related to issues of gender, race, justice, scholarship and learning. In the first half of the course we will discuss feminist themes of activism, public intellectualism, the politics of representation, decolonizing research paradigms, community engagement, ethics, and accountability. What is our role or responsibility as feminist scholars and students committed to social justice? Can we break away from colonial frameworks? What role does power/ positionality, identity play in our research? How do we deconstruct the traditional postcolonial gaze/encounter? Beyond our intentions, who does our research serve and/or protect? How can we develop more equitable alternative methodologies? Can the research enterprise be democratized/equitable? What are the possibilities of justice based applied feminist research?
In the second half of the class will discuss Critical Race, Queer, and Feminist pedagogy in the broader sense. How do identity, power, and difference play themselves out in the educational experience? We shall critically analyse the role of race, class, gender, and sexuality in the ways in which we learn. We will explore issues of voice and reflections of the self to consider how our identities/positionalities are situated amidst structures of knowledge dissemination. We go on to examine issues of Praxis; how do we apply what we learn outside the classroom setting? As such, we will experiment with alternative expressions of feminist knowledge and representation such as performance, movement, poetry, and theatre. Together we will foster a dialogue and develop an appreciation for justice based on empowering models and strategies of transformative education to be used in and beyond the classroom.
Class Materials (Required)
Teaching to Transgress-bell Hooks