A Queer Feminist Look at Moments of Tension: A Self-Study Through Dialogic Friendship

• In Event: Forging Coalitions of Empowerment: Self-Studies Fostering Radical Literacies, Critical Consciousness, and Dialogic Friendships

Abstract

In this self-study, we build on our ongoing dialogic feminist friendship to examine two critical incidents: 1) a student interrupting a discussion of masculinity in an undergraduate gender and sexuality course and 2) a student’s concern about the term “Indian American” in a high school English class. Each of these were moments of tension and potential harm that required us to proactively attempt to repair our classroom communities. Through a queer feminist lens, we examined the ways we disrupted our pedagogical choices and our evolving feelings about those actions. Iterations of journaling, responding, and dialoguing guided our analysis of these moments of tension. Collaborative self-study deepened our investigations as we questioned, challenged, and co-constructed meaning in partnership.

Authors

• Katie F. Whitley, Montclair State University

• Kelly Lormand, Grand Valley State University