Subversive Pedagogy: Teaching Transgression
Abstract
With the recent advent of controversial academic journals like Porn Studies, the question which inevitably comes to the fore is: What role does transgressive, potentially offensive, content have in an academic setting? This paper attempts to open up several lines of inquiry and considers the following questions regarding transgressive content: Firstly, how does one even distinguish transgressive content? Is such content, be it racist, misogynist, homophobic/transphobic or sexually explicit, ever “appropriate” in the classroom? How do we engage these texts critically?
One of the main assertions of this paper is that transgressive material has a valid, valuable place in the classroom and academic freedom must ensure its inclusion. Regardless of the offensive content, these works reflect the workings of often eroticized power structures; they also demonstrate the way these structures intersect with race, gender and class in a given society. In considering all of these questions, this article provides starting points for several discussions about transgressive material in the classroom and offers some techniques for educators who are interested in incorporating it into their classrooms.
Presentation Description
This presentation provides several innovative techniques for educators who are interested in incorporating transgressive material into their classrooms.
Keywords
transgression, pedagogy, queer theory, feminist theory
Location
Magnolia Room C
Publication Type and Release Option
Presentation (Open Access)
Recommended Citation
Dexter, Adam J., "Subversive Pedagogy: Teaching Transgression" (2015). Curriculum Studies Summer Collaborative. 7.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/cssc/2015/2015/7
Subversive Pedagogy: Teaching Transgression
Magnolia Room C
With the recent advent of controversial academic journals like Porn Studies, the question which inevitably comes to the fore is: What role does transgressive, potentially offensive, content have in an academic setting? This paper attempts to open up several lines of inquiry and considers the following questions regarding transgressive content: Firstly, how does one even distinguish transgressive content? Is such content, be it racist, misogynist, homophobic/transphobic or sexually explicit, ever “appropriate” in the classroom? How do we engage these texts critically?
One of the main assertions of this paper is that transgressive material has a valid, valuable place in the classroom and academic freedom must ensure its inclusion. Regardless of the offensive content, these works reflect the workings of often eroticized power structures; they also demonstrate the way these structures intersect with race, gender and class in a given society. In considering all of these questions, this article provides starting points for several discussions about transgressive material in the classroom and offers some techniques for educators who are interested in incorporating it into their classrooms.
