Queer Critical Community Through Twitter: Fostering Bonds Among College Students

• In Event: Moscone Center North Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: Trans and Queer Experiences in Higher Education

Abstract

This qualitative case study investigates how twitter helped build critical community (Bettez, 2011) in a college course on queer young adult literature (YAL). This research stems from a larger study of the YAL course, which had 18 participants, 15 who self-identified as queer. Students used a course hashtag to communicate both in and out of class and to post responses to assignments. Data included student tweets and semi-structured interviews with two students. Findings indicated that twitter facilitated queer critical community through (a) hybrid support systems, (b) challenging students’ perspectives, and (c) creating a queer community that extended to other students on campus. This has implications for critical community building on college campuses, particularly for minority populations.

Author

• Summer Pennell, The University of Vermont