Cruel Optimism: Teaching From Home With Digital Platforms

• In Event: Friday Roundtable Session 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Online Learning (Table 22)

Abstract

In this qualitative narrative, I present the findings on the relationship between digital educational platforms and faculty working from home. Using intersectionality and standpoint theory as a framework and semi-structured interviews as the primary data collection, the findings are discussed in the context of Berlant’s (2011) notion of cruel optimism. More specifically, the findings point to the challenges and experiences that potentially hindered the academics’ full engagement in teaching remotely from home. The findings point to a rise of the new forms of domestic patriarchy on the one hand, and the rise of technology-driven new work demands, on the other.

Author

• Iwona Sadowska, Georgetown University