In Defense of Pedagogies of Obscenity

• In Event: Roundtable Session 9
  In Roundtable Session: Explorations in Culture and Curriculum: Possibilities and Considerations

Abstract

Despite our best efforts to the contrary, obscenity is often found to ooze out from under the rugs of “polite” society. As educators these experiences can be problematic. We seek to interrogate obscene occurrences in our classrooms through the lens of cultural critic Slavoj Žižek and feminist scholar Jane Gallop in order determine the purpose and value of obscenity from a pedagogical perspective. We engage in both a narrative interrogation of Žižek and Gallop on their views of the obscene and a self-criticism of our fascination and compulsion towards using obscenity in a classroom space. The value of discussing obscenity and its occurrence in classrooms and research is both critiqued and defended

Authors

• Timothy Michael Barko, University of Florida

• Jennifer R. Wolgemuth, University of South Florida

• Mirka E. Koro-Ljungberg, Arizona State University