Beyoncé's Path of Conocimiento

• In Event: Anzaldúan-Informed Pedagogies in Higher Education: Corridos, Research Methods, Ethnic Studies, and Beyoncé

Abstract

Objective: The purpose of this paper is to present an undergraduate lesson plan that used Beyoncé’s visual album, Lemonade, to examine Anzaldúa’s (2002) path of conocimiento (consciousness). The path of conocimiento is a theoretical concept used to explain or represent a journey of awareness, knowledge, or consciousness. The paper is organized in the structure of the lesson plan. Part I begins with the learning objectives and discusses the way I present the path of conocimiento to students. Part II is divided into five pieces, each one pertaining to one of the music videos in Lemonade. Each section begins with a brief description of the music video and follows with my analysis in conversation with my students. Part III is the final part of the lesson plan, which is a discussion on building movements of solidarity between Black and Brown women. I conclude with my reflections on the lesson plan. My goal is to show a creative and interdisciplinary way of teaching theory, specifically Anzaldúan theory, to undergraduate students.

Theoretical Framework: This paper is informed by bell hooks (2003) pedagogy of hope; education as the practice of freedom. This type of pedagogy is dedicated to creating classrooms where teacher and students work in partnership. It aims to dismantle methods of exclusion and validate the embodied knowledges that students bring to the classroom. Central to hooks’ pedagogy is the act of bridging theory with practice so students can make connections to their everyday lives. I use Lemonade as a way to make the classroom an exciting place for students to learn, but most importantly for them to see themselves as theorists and thinkers.

Methods & Data Sources: The lesson plan was part of my Latina Feminist Theory class. The majority of students enrolled identified as Latinx and first-generation college. Data collection included student’s work, specifically two handouts. The first handout is a worksheet that students filled out as they watched Lemonade and the second handout is an evaluation of the lesson plan. These two handouts include student’s analysis and reflections. In addition to student’s work, I also took fieldnotes before, during, and after the lesson plan.

Findings: The use of Lemonade as a pedagogical tool generated the following findings: 1) It facilitated students understanding and analysis of the path of conocimiento, 2) It helped bridge Latina and Black feminist thought, and 3) It made the classroom an exciting, rigorous, and creative place of learning. Although the lesson plan took place over the duration of two four-hour class meetings, students repeatedly brought up the lesson plan including in the evaluations. My fieldnotes showed student’s confidence and eagerness to deconstruct theory and generate new ideas.

Significance: hooks (2003) writes that the classroom should be an exciting place, never a boring place. This lesson plan shows how excitement can co-exist with academic or intellectual engagement. It also an exemplar of how to teach theory to students, especially for those that identify as first-generation college, low-income, and/or as a member from a historically marginalized population.

Author

• Alma Itzé Flores, California State University - Sacramento