Revisiting and Reinventing a Feminist Freire: Woman of Color Pedagogies of Love

Session Type: Symposium

Abstract

This symposium explores the relationship between love and Paulo Freire’s critical praxis. Despite the culture of lovelessness and dehumanization students and teachers encounter in urban contexts, we draw upon women of color epistemologies and experiences to take on Freire’s (1998) task to teach with “a forged, invented, and well-thought-out capacity to love” (p. 3) within learning spaces. We build upon education and feminist theories and practices to offer pedagogical strategies to understand and practice liberatory forms of love within school and community settings. We imagine ways love can be used as a tool to work towards spiritual healing and social justice — cornerstones of an equitable education. Ultimately, these presentations highlight the foundation of love within justice-oriented practices in schools.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Critical Educators for Social Justice

Chair

• Allyson Tintiangco-Cubales, San Francisco State University

Papers

• Comparative Ethnic Studies Pedagogy: Teaching Toward Decolonial Love - Jocyl Sacramento, California State University - East Bay

• In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: A Womanist Understanding of Love En Route to Self-Determination - Tiffani Johnson

• Cultivating a Pedagogy of Love: A Portrait of Trauma and Healing in an English Classroom - Sharim Hannegan-Martinez, University of Michigan

Discussant

• Stephanie Cariaga, California State University - Dominguez Hills