

Work together to come up with definitions of "queer', "pedagogy", and "queer pedagogy"


Let's work together to come up with definitions for "queer', "pedagogy", and "queer pedagogy."  This task has been marked as "collaborative" meaning that anyone can edit it.   You can look at people's responses to the signup task here: as a starting point.

Take what people said in the signup task, and put your thoughts below each word.  Edit this task in order to add your thoughts.  Label your thoughts with your username or real name, so we know who is contirbuting what.


Jess: An identity that can be inclusive of all people who don't identify as straight and/or with the gender binary, but can only ever be self-applied (in other words, some gay people might not identify as queer). Many people, myself included, who are gay use "queer" as a way of signaling our political position as differentiated from the mainstream "gay and lesbian" movement (see: The Human Rights Campaign). I'm not an assimilationist, and that's one of the reasons I and other people I know use "queer." It indicates an opposition to or a disidentification with heteronormativity and binary understandings of gender.


Jess: Teaching and learning. I believe in co-constructed knowledge.

Queer Pedagogy:

Jess: I like to think about queer pedagogy as one that critically examines the capitalist white hetero-patriarchy and seeks to liberate people from it through dismantling ideas about "natural" hierarchies bassed in race, gender, etc. It would overturn deficit assumptions about "othered" people (those who are not white, straight, and male/masculine). It would include explicit discussions of queer identities that include queer people in them. It would include influences from queer theory as well as critical pedagogy, critical race theory, and other anti-oppressive theories and ideas.

Task Discussion

  • queerpedagogue   Jan. 3, 2012, 4:21 p.m.

    I wanted to prod the rest of you to add your thoughts to this discussion so that we can move on to the next activity.  Simply click "Edit" to add your thoughts to the task.