Holding Change as a Pedagogy of Abolitionist Praxis

• In Event: Abolitionist Praxis and Broadening Perspectives on Educational Carcerality

Abstract

This paper explores holding change (brown, 2021) to understand how "pedagogies of abolition" manifests. Drawing on a post-intentional phenomenological (Vagle 2018) study exploring the teaching/learning of an abolitionist praxis, this paper uses holding change to analyze the experiences of a group of Black trans organizers. Through exploring how "pedagogies of abolition" manifests within the group and in the lives of the participants, this paper illuminates teachable moments of an abolitionist praxis. Through considering the relationship between abolitionist study and struggle; troubling traditional modes of study (Meyerhoff, 2019); and engaging emergent strategy (brown 2017) as a pedagogical practice, this paper asserts that Black trans life is inherently pedagogical, teaching new ways of knowing and being in the world.

Author

• Qui Alexander, University of Toronto
  Presenting Author