Theories of Recognition, Queer Subjectivities, and the Pedagogies of Friendship

• In Event: Queer Relationalities: Love, Friendship, and Other Conundrums of Educational Life

Abstract

This paper offers a potentially new theoretical framework for queer studies in education. It explores Michel Foucault's admonition about the relationship between homosexuality and friendship. This paper shows how combining theories of recognition (e.g. Butler and Honneth) can initiate a discussion about how homosexuality can instigate new subjectivities based on friendship. It shows how forms of recognition play a role in different types of friendships (e.g. ethic of discomfort, kinship) within various gay-themed young-adult novels.

Author

• David L. Carlson, Arizona State University