Exaltation, Homonationalism, and the Construction of Safe Subjects in Specialized Arts High Schools

• In Event: Roundtable Session 122
  In Roundtable Session: Crossing Borders: Rethinking Culture, Context, and Choice in Curriculum Studies

Abstract

This paper takes a critical look at the observation that students and teachers in specialized arts high schools characterize their schools as "safe" environments. The paper draws a link between two different ways in which safety is constructed: (1) in contrast to "other" dangerous schools and (2) in relationship to the safety of gay students. We draw from the notion of "homonationalism" developed by Puar (2007) and the construction of "exalted subjects" as articulated by Thobani (2007) to draw a link between the construction of Canada as a "safe" multicultural nation and how safety is constructed within the context of specialized arts programs.

Authors

• Ruben Gaztambide-Fernandez, OISE/University of Toronto

• Lia Gladstone, OISE/University of Toronto

• Dominique Riviere, University of Toronto