Toward a Trans*-Assemblage Thinking: Posthuman Autoethnography of Becoming Trans*national Scholar

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 8:00 am Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Critical, Decolonial, and Queer Theories (Table 4)

Abstract

In this paper, I theorize my becoming as a transnational trans* scholar through posthuman autoethnography. Following Deleuzian ontology, I understand social identities not as fixed categories but as dynamic difference. Specifically, I focus on vignettes, diary entries, text messages, conversations, and photos as multiple thresholds where things collide, creating opportunities. Drawing on Puar's (2012) work and standing from trans* epistemology (Nicolazzo, 2021), I propose Trans*-Assemblage thinking—both trans* as assemblage and assemblage within trans*—which merges intersectionality and the prefix 'trans*' with Deleuzian assemblage theory. I conclude by suggesting how this approach could offer a decolonial, both/and framework for re-envisioning education, prioritizing fluidity, complexity, and pluriversality in gender, posthuman and social justice education.

Author

• Pin-Ru Su, University of Arizona