Recently in 4. Annotated Bibliography Category

**Just a little bit late! I wanted to post this after I had some new and more relevant sources after adjusting my paper. I thought better late than never.**

Brown, Wendy. "The Impossibility of Women's Studies." Differences: A Journal of Feminist Cultural Studies 9.3 (1997): 79. Print.

In The Impossibility of Women's Studies, Wendy Brown questions and analyzes where the field of women's studies is at the present moment. Brown highlights the importance of the creation of the field at the time of its conception and inclusion into academia. However, she also goes on to detail many of the numerous issues that women's studies as a discipline faces today. For instance, she argues that the field circumscribes meaning to the "uncircumscribable" category of women and that to maintain "women" as an object of study there must be a constant negation and expulsion of theory and fields that work to deconstruct the work that has been women's studies to this point.
This is a really important work for my paper because it really helped me to realize that my issue was not with feminism per se, but much more concerned with how feminism, institutionalized through women's studies (and GWSS), is used to create a category of women based on experiencing the same gender identity. And though that sounds like an equally broad generalization, I am using this piece to reflect on my time spent at UMD in the Women's Studies department before I transferred here to UMTC in the Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies department. My time in Duluth really shaped my understanding of feminism and this discourse that still continues in Women's Studies is what I'm using this essay to critique.

hooks, bell. "Sisterhood: Political Solidarity between Women." Feminist Review.23, Socialist-Feminism: Out of the Blue (1986): 125-38. Print.

In this text bell hooks addresses the political advantages of women uniting for a shared goal of fighting sexism and male dominance politically. hooks' argument argues that an important oversight of contemporary feminist movements is an underlying concept of sisterhood that must be embraced in order to achieve social change. She asserts that divisive obstacles such as class, race and sexist attitudes as well as other prejudices keep women from achieving this sisterhood.
This is a work that I will use to balance Wendy Brown's arguments against identity politics. hooks uses women as a group based on their identity as women and asserts that female solidarity is goal for which to strive. This is an argument for identity politics and therefore will provide an insight into the positive and revolutionary possibilities of identity politics to balance the negative consequences that I will offer through other texts in order to give a nuanced and thorough introduction to identity politics in my paper.

Brown, Wendy. "Wounded Attachments." Political Theory 21.3 (1993): 390-410. Print.

In this article, Wendy Brown discusses the "troubling aspects" of the development of identity politics, their inability to effectively create change while remaining in the same discursive constraints that oppress them, and the "wounded attachments" identity politics carry with them. She basically argues against identity politics by exposing some of the discursively problematic aspects created through their use.
This is a perfect article to expose some of the issues that identity politics come up against with various theorists. It's important for me to introduce identity politics as a cause of essentialism and to introduce it intelligently and thoroughly I need to acknowledge both advantages and disadvantages of identity politics.

Here are, finally, my last 4 annotated bibliography entries! I felt like I needed to narrow my topic and thoroughly understand it before I could have more sources that were truly useful and meaningful for my topic. Here they are!

Fonjong, Lotsmart N. The Challenges of Nongovernmental Organizations in Anglophone Cameroon. Nova Science Publishers, Inc. New York. 2007.

Lotsmart's analysis of NGOs is primarily descriptive instead of deconstructive. The author discusses every aspect of NGO formation and operation, including why they are so widespread in Anglophone sub Saharan Africa, how they are financed, their effectiveness, and how they interact with the state. However, the analysis stops short of really investigating how the NGOs deal with power and agency in the African context.

Nonetheless, I find this text useful as a tool to understand primarily why NGOs are such an important part of African governance. The government does less than the NGOs, giving space for foreign entities to have control over African countries. The analysis of a missionary mindset in these countries will aid my own analysis of NGOs as a facet of globalization.

Sangtin Writers Collective and Richa Nagar. Playing With Fire: Feminist Thought and Activism through Seven Lives in India. University of Minnesota Press: Minneapolis. 2006.

This book by GWSS faculty member Richa Nagar and other members of the Sangtin Collective explores through personal narrative and feminist theory how NGOs in rural India attempt to empower women but can backfire, reinforcing the domination of women. The book begins with stories of the members' childhoods and coming of age, and then discusses their roles in a foreign-funded NGO.

I admire the structure of this book, particularly how it begins with personal histories and positionalities. I think the critique of NGOs will be helpful in giving me ideas, while in a different context, of the way that NGOs intentions can be misdirected. Additionally, I am particularly interested in the way that NGOs create categories and power constructs in the areas they operate.

Visweswaran, Kamala. Fictions of Feminist Ethnography. University of Minnesota Press: Minneapolis. 1994.

Visweswaren's work begins by discussing ethnography's traditional distance from emotion and identity. She then explains how feminist ethnography can be different, by using narrative, fiction, and the personal in order to expose more about the culture being studied as well as about the researcher. She discusses how power differentials in the field, in her case in India, affect the answers that are given and produced.

While this book does not directly address feminist ethics, it does address the ways in which identity affects the ethnography that is done. Without knowing it, I had engaged in ethnography, and my questions are largely about how to understand the way my identity and my power have affected that work, and how to proceed with my findings while knowing their flaws. This text gives examples of similar problems and how the researchers accommodated them in their own writing.

Bond, Michael Harris. Working at the Interface of Cultures: Eighteen Lives in Social Science. Routledge Press: London and New York. 1997.

This anthology by Bond has eighteen stories of people working in cultures different than their own, showcasing the possible ways that cross-cultural experiences can personally change the researcher. The introduction claims that the book will "lift the objective mask of science to reveal the subjective encounter with difference that shapes scholarly understanding."

While this volume does not label it is a text grounded in ethics, I have found the personal stories to be confronting similar questions that I have in my search for a transnational feminist ethics, particularly how cultural difference can and should be navigated in an attempt to represent another culture with respect and all the possible accuracy.

Michell Tea's Rent Girl is an engaging autobiographic story of a young lesbian woman who gets involved s sex work with her girlfriend. I love that it is a graphic novel, because the characters are so vivid in her story, and you really feel like your getting a glimpse into a small, typically misrepresented world. She doesn't make prostitution seem more accessible, or glamorous, or horrific. Rather shows the reality of a fairly common occupation, and she devotes a lot of space in the story to her personal relationships, motivations, and history. The work goes a long way to disrupt the binary narrative of sex work being either empowering or victimizing.

Flesh for Fantasy: producing and Consuming Exotic Dance is a collection of essays edited by three people with PhD s who danced at some point. It is such a great example of the power of sharing your story in order to help other people. I have had my face in this book for a week, it speaks so directly to my experiences as a feminist scholar and stripper, and how both aspects of my life have informed one another. The book was created on the premise that people informing the conversation, and asking questions about the exotic dancing should be the dancer's themselves. The book explores through personal narratives, power dynamics, social taboos, and how class, race,and sexuality inform one's experience and role in the marginalized sex trade. The essay entitled How You Got Here resonated we me, Alison Fensterstock reflects her experiences working as a dancer and constantly studying the social dynamics and gender performance in the club setting. A lot of the writers in this collection were strongly influenced by Judith Butler's theorizing on the subversive potential of gender performance, and Micheal Warner's notions of queering.

Ochoa, Gilda L. and Pineda, Daniela. "Deconstructing Power, Privilege, and Silence in the Classroom." Radical History Review. 102. (Fall 2008).

In this essay, Ochoa and Pineda discuss practical approaches to talking about race, gender, and class through a critical pedagogy. They draw their focus in to the unequal power dynamics within college/university classrooms and address the ways that space often reproduces dominant ideologies in relation to power, privilege, and exclusion. They envision a classroom that is "student-centered, cooperative, participatory, reflective, and negotiated between teacher and student" (47). Within this framework, they address the politics of assimilation and unequal modes of communication, the difficulties of teaching against years of socialization, and the reality that each student experiences the classroom in a different way. Through experience-based knowledge, they explore ways to break the silence through re-socialization and inclusivity.

Ochoa and Pineda's work on language, the politics of assimilation, and unequal modes of communication within academia is of particular importance to my project. Given the complexities of language and its history of oppression and domination, I am interested in whether the body can be a vessel for alternative forms of communication. Their careful attention to the different ways students experience the classroom environment is a helpful and necessary reminder to be aware of how individual students' social locations may affect their ability, desire, and comfort levels when encountering this different classroom space. While I do not necessarily agree with their desire to re-socialize bodies in these spaces, I recognize the importance of a process-oriented approach, arguably based in the practice of "un-learning."

Torres, Edén. "Wisdom and Weakness: Freire and Education." Chicana Without Apology. Routledge. New York, 2003.

In this chapter, Torres draws our attention to the complex relationship between women of color educators and Freirean pedagogy. She draws on her experience as a Chicana professor at the University of Minnesota and brings questions of power, privilege, and authority to the forefront of her discussion. Throughout these explorations she comes to the conclusion that Freirean pedagogical practices cannot simply be excavated from the time, place, and socio-political moment in which they were developed. Instead, the time, place, and socio-political moment in which we are working today must provide the driving forces in our engagement with Freirean pedagogies.

Torres' discussion of women of color educators engaging with Freirean pedagogy is vital to my work because it asks me to hone my understandings of power, authority, and dialogue in the classroom. Clarifying what I mean by each of these terms can open a space to enter into Freirean pedagogy more effectively. I also see an opportunity to incorporate ideas of embodiment into this critical discussion as one possible framework for a praxis which re-defines power, authority, and dialogue.

Johnson, Julia R. and Bhatt, Archana J. "Gendered and Racialized Identities and Alliances in the Classroom: Formations in/of Resistive Space." Communication Education, Vol. 52, No. 3/4, July/October 2003, pp. 230-244

In this article, Johnson and Bhatt discuss processes of alliance building in the classroom which challenges essentialized, binary notions of difference. They critique a disembodied approach to theorizing about oppression because oppression often manifests as corporeal violence. In order to create transformational classroom spaces through alliance building, they argue identity should be theorized as relational and the "Self" must remain vulnerable to "Others." Their vision for alliances "across racial lines" is not idealistic or simple, but is rooted in struggle, conflict, and occasionally pain. In order for this process to be effective and not destructive, they discuss the necessity of a safe space for interaction which allows those conflicts to be sites of learning.

I am particularly interested in their discussion of relational identities and alternative notions of difference. Maintaining binary logic in classroom explorations of "difficult dialogues" is to maintain dominant structures of interaction and communication, and ultimately, does not contribute to the process of destabilizing systems of power and privilege. I hope to take the framework they have set up and explore in more depth this idea of "safe spaces" in relation to creating and effective site for praxis.

Halperin, David M., et al. "REFLECTIONS: The Normalization of Queer Theory." 45 Vol. Haworth Press, Inc, 2003. 339-343. Print.

In "The Normalization of Queer Theory" David Halperin briefly describes the origins of queer theory, beginning in 1990 and continuing up until where queer theory is situated in academic institutions today. Halperin puts queer theory as a field in context amongst LGBT studies and feminist studies, analyzing their overlapping and evolving relationships to one another. Halperin also questions whether queer theory is living up to its hype and why it was so quickly absorbed into mainstream and largely heterosexual academic institutions when much of queer theory is so radical. This article has already been very helpful for me in trying to trace the short history of queer theory and understand somewhat where queer theory stands at the present moment. Halperin lists many foundational queer theory texts, which is always valuable when researching a topic, and he also raises a lot of questions about queer theory that are embedded in my project of figuring where feminism and queer theory are situated relative to one another. Halperin mentions briefly feminist studies and lesbian and gay male studies participating in creating identity politics, but doesn't elaborate, so this will not help me in that regard.

Heyes, Cressida J. "Feminist Solidarity After Queer Theory: The Case of Transgender." Signs: Journal of Women in Culture & Society 28.4 (2003): 1093. Print.

In this article, Cressida Heyes analyzes the argument in some feminist texts against any association or inclusion of transsexuals into feminist theory. Heyes specifically highlights the stance of two feminist theorists who deem transsexuality inherently outside of the realm of feminist theory or best interest. Heyes asserts that Janice Raymond and Bernice Hausman see transsexuals as reinforcing ideological conceptions of masculinity and femininity by simply mixing the two or choosing one over the other, rather than transcending the gender binary. Heyes uses these two theorists as a jumping off point to iterate why transsexuals are actually involved in "working within an ethics of self-transformation with which all feminists must grapple". In this way, Heyes links not only transsexuals and feminist theory as having connections, but queer theory as well because of the radical emphasis of marginalized subjects, especially transsexuals, within queer theory. This article not only gives a nuanced account of both exclusionary and identity-driven feminist theory, but also a possibility for the reliance of feminism on queer theory and vice versa. This is a perfect article for my project, and also has opened up a new possibility of using transsexual and transgender issues as an example of the conflict in identity politics of feminism with queer theory.

Hammers, Corie, and Alan D. Brown Ill. "Towards a Feminist-Queer Alliance: Paradigmatic Shift in the Research Process." Social Epistemology 18.1 (2004): 85-101. Print.

This text is a thorough investigation of social sciences as they exist today and their reinforcement of gender, patriarchal and heterosexist norms. Hammers and Brown turn first to feminist interpretations of what is wrong with social sciences as they exist and are taught today, and then move to queer interpretations of the same subjects. The feminist and queer critiques of these subjects work well with each other and complement the gaps in one another's theory. This is an example of ways in which feminist theory and queer theory can be combined within the same project for a similar end goal.

Puar, Jasbir K. "Queer Times, Queer Assemblages." Social Text (2005), 23:3-4.

In Queer Times, Queer Assemblages, Puar discusses a lot of unique and interesting ideas about queerness, focusing specifically on the idea of an assemblage versus intersectionality as a way of addressing problems with identity politics. Puar also focuses on ballistic bodies, and naming things that are already queer but are not fully recognized in their queerness. I am referencing this article because of a suggestion, and as I have been mulling over it, I think it may help shape part of my paper. I am considering it an integral part of my paper in opening up a new way of resolving the issue of identity that seems to pull feminism and queer theory away from one another.

Jackman, Mary R. "Violence in Social Life." Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 28 (2002): 387-415. Annual Reviews. Web. Feb. 14 2010.
This article is sociological in nature and discusses violence (its definition and how and why it manifests in societies). While a bit boring, I could use this piece for a background on violence and its purposes in society, and then tie that into an explanation of violence as it is sanctioned by the state (via the police). I haven't decided if I'm going to use this piece for sure because I'm not sure how in-depth to get with definitions of violence and explanations...

Oliver, William. ""The Streets": An Alternative Black Male Socialization Institution." Journal of Black Studies, Vol. 36, No. 6 (Jul., 2006): 918-937. Sage Publications, Inc. Web. Feb. 14 2010.
This article is about black male socialization, and includes tropes of black masculinity. It provides more of a 'how' explanation of socialization than I'm interested in, but the tropes of black masculinity are important because they echo what Patricia Hill Collins lists as tropes of black masculinity. If I do a longer analysis I will use this piece to discuss how tropes of black masculinity were constructed and how they interact with white masculinity to create justification for police violence.

Henry, Matthew. "He Is a "Bad Mother*$%@!#": "Shaft" and Contemporary Black Masculinity." African American Review, Vol. 38, No. 1 (Spring, 2004): 119-126. St. Louis University. Web. Feb. 14 2010.
Similar to the article by Oliver, this article discusses tropes of black masculinity but the author uses an analysis of popular culture and films to discuss the issues these types of masculinities present. I like how the author explains these tropes as reactionary in nature; results of the racialized, gendered, and sexualized experience of black men in the US (I think this piece would perhaps be better than the piece by Oliver to use). The author really delves into the sexualized depiction of black masculinity, which is important for my project because I can relate that to white masculinity.

Ward, Elijah G. "Homophobia, Hypermasculinity and the US Black Church." Culture, Health & Sexuality, Vol. 7, No. 5, Themed Symposium: Female Genital Cutting (Sep. - Oct., 2005): 493-504. Taylor & Francis, Ltd. Web. Feb. 14 2010.
This short article is about homophobia and black culture. While most really focuses on homophobia there is a good discussion of hypermasculinity in US culture, which I could use to discuss traits of masculinity and the hypermasculinity of police.

Gray, Herman. "Black Masculinity and Visual Culture." Callaloo, Vol. 18, No. 2 (Spring, 1995): 401-405. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Web. Feb. 14 2010.
This article is about black masculinity as portrayed in pop culture. It's similar to a few of my other sources, but I think it is a good exploration of how black masculinity is shaped as a subversive force. I think this piece could link together a few things regarding production of black masculinity, and it contains relevant info on intersections of race, gender and sexuality in tropes of black masculinity.

Epstein, Debbie. "Marked Men: Whiteness and Masculinity." Agenda, No. 37, The New Man? (1998): 49-59. Agenda Feminist Media. Web. Feb. 14 2010.
This article is about white masculinity in South Africa. I think this piece is really interesting for another way to think about masculinities and the role of the state. This piece touches on colonialism and post-colonialism, which I think may be a relevant way to discuss the experience of black men in the US, but the article doesn't dive very deep into colonial theory (which could be a totally different way to approach my project that I'm trying to avoid). Because the author is discusses South Africa, a good discussion of the role of the state in police/military is explored. I feel looking at the issues of race and masculinity in a country that has really acknowledged its racist past (even though it hasn't repaired the damages done by its past) is a good perspective for me to read more about while I think about my project because it's a bit different in the US, where people don't seem to really understand the importance of history in the conditions of today.

Williams, Patricia J. "Meditations on Masculinity." Callaloo, Vol. 24, No. 2, The Best of Callalo Prose: A Special 25th Anniversary Issue (Spring, 2001): 644-653. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Web. Feb. 14 2010.
This article made me sad. It began with a personal account of racism and fear of black male bodies (the author was writing about her two year old son). This piece focuses on black masculinity and offers positive musings coupled with more negative facts about how the dominant culture views black men. This piece provides a good, short discussion of how black male bodies have come to be read as criminal, and more abstractly through narrative shows how this comes out in different pieces of one's life.

Harris, Angela P. "Gender, Violence, Race, and Criminal Justice." Stanford Law Review, Vol. 52, No. 4 (Apr., 2000): 777-807. Stanford Law Review. Web. Feb. 9 2010.
This article is about the connection between violence and masculinity. It discusses this connection both in terms of violence within the community and violence with state agents. It's a long article, and I'm hoping it will provide me with a good basis for my paper about violence and masculinity that I can tailor down to gendered and racialized violence. It doesn't quite focus on race, in terms of black/white masculinities in quite the way I want my project to, so I will use other sources to bring in ideas about the racialized nature of violence.

Meijer, Irene Costera and Baukje Prins. "How Bodies Come to Matter: An Interview with Judith Butler." Signs, Vol. 23, No. 2 (Winter, 1998): 275-286. The University of Chicago Press. Web. Feb. 12 2010.
This article is an interview with Butler about performativity. Since I couldn't find an original source for her theories of performativity, I will use this article in its place. I think this interview form provides a more readable and understandable version of some of her theories, which is very important for me (I want my paper to hopefully be easy to read and understand - because that's what frustrates me the most about feminist theory).

Wiegman, Robyn. "The Anatomy of Lynching." Journal of the History of Sexuality, Vol. 3, No. 3, Special Issue: African American Culture and Sexuality (Jan., 1993): 445-467. University of Texas Press. Web. Feb. 9 2010.
This piece is really interesting. It describes lynching as a sexualized, racialized, and state sanctioned form of violence on the bodies of black men. There are a couple ways I could use this piece. I could use it for a tie between racism, policing/discipline, and violence. I could use it conceptually for myself, as a sort of framework to analyze police violence. I haven't really decided what to do with it exactly, but it's an incredibly interesting article that I think ties racism, sexism, state control & sanctioned violence, and feminism together for viewing lynching.

Anderson, Kristin L. and Debra Umberson. "Gendering Violence: Masculinity and Power in Men's Accounts of Domestic Violence." Gender and Society, Vol. 15, No. 3 (Jun., 2001): 358-380. Sage Publications, Inc. Web. Feb. 14 2010.
Feminism has focused a lot of gender violence anddomestic violence, which is the topic of this article. It begins with a discussion of domestic violence as a form of patriarchal violence against women's bodies, and examines male batterers' experience of "doing" gender as it relates to them committing violence against their partners. Given the lack of information or study on police that commit acts of violence I think I could use this piece if I wanted to explore how police perpetrators of violence view themselves and their violence. This may go beyond the scope of my project, but I won't know for sure until I start writing it.

(Sorry this is late - I figured out how to hone done my project, and spent time on that and an outline, and wanted my annotated bibliography to reflect the changes)

Working Title:
Gendered, Racialized, and Sexualized Violence: A Feminist Perspective on Police Brutality
Working Goal:
I will argue that violence, as perpetrated by (largely) white police officers on the bodies of low income men of color is an extension of 'performing' ideas of white masculinity that come from the historical legacy of colonialism and slavery in the United States.
Tracing roots of the tropes of black masculinity through history allows us to think about how police brutality comes to be normalized and expected because of notions regarding race and gender. White masculinity, in this context, depends of the physical subordinate and control of the bodies of the 'other' - or men of color.

Bergner, Gwen. "Who Is That Masked Woman? Or, the Role of Gender in Fanon's Black Skin, White Masks." PMLA, Vol. 110, No. 1, Special Topic: Colonialism and the Postcolonial Condition (Jan., 1995): 75-88. Modern Language Association. Web. Feb. 14 2010.
This article is a critique of Fanon's work. The author argues that gender (specifically the gender of black women is erased in Fanon's Black Skin, White Masks.
This piece could be helpful for my project by bringing in colonial theory or for a perspective on gender and race. I'm not quite sure if I will use it, but it could be a good piece for looking at the violence inflicted on bodies of color with a gendered lens added.

Anderson, Amanda. "Debatable Performances: Restaging Contentious Feminisms." Social Text, No. 54 (Spring, 1998): 1-24. Duke University Press. Web. Feb. 12 2010.
This piece is about feminist debates regarding performativity and theory. It has some good info on Butler's theory of performativity (which I couldn't find in my searches and I really wanted to use for my theory piece). This piece has a summary of Butler that would be good to use about gender construction, identity and performance - which I could tie to masculinity.

Connell, R.W. and James W. Messerschmidt. "Hegemonic Masculinity: Rethinking the Concept." Gender and Society, Vol. 19, No. 6 (Dec., 2005): 829-859. Sage Publications, Inc. Web. Feb. 12 2010.
This piece is about hegemonic masculinity, and includes info on subordinated masculinities. It also is a reaction to earlier works on masculinity and addresses some critiques others have brought forward. This would be a good basic theory piece to explain masculinity for my project.

Dublanica, Steve. Waiter Rant: Thanks for the Tip-Confessions of a Cynical Waiter. Harper Collins Publishers. 2008.

When I read the dedication of this book, I knew it was for me. Dublanica dedicated the book to his mother, father and anyone who has ever waited tables. He wrote the book with inspiration from his blog that he had started four years prior. Dublanica provides a server's point of view with issues of race, class, religion, power abuse, sexual orientation, etc. having to do with customers and within the workplace. He also writes about things occurring outside the restaurant which leads him to observations and reflections.

This book will provide additional experiential occurrences that can be theorized. I look forward to sharing some of his pieces in addition to my own for a different source of first hand experiences as a server. I plan to use his reflections in conjunction with mine and/or as a critique of the workplace. In the first chapter, he talks about the kitchen staff-server dynamics. Although he does not directly theorize about the influences race, class, sexual orientation, etc. have on this relationship, he provides a base from which I can theorize further his account. I think this is a great source that will be entertaining and theoretically stimulating.

Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. Henry Holt and Company. 2001.

This book is about a writer that goes undercover and works in the service industry while also attempting to live off of her earnings. She works in Florida, Maine and Minnesota in various low wage jobs. Throughout the book Ehrenreich provides personal experience and a reflection segment that show the true colors of different work settings. She provides a "fly on the wall" perspective that illustrates and legitimates employees of the service industry.

I think this source will be useful because of her strategic and close method of research. She describes issues of race, class, gender and a new one that I had not thought of - employee health. In the fourth chapter, she dedicates its entirety to reflection. She describes the unskilled jobs, which I would argue the term unskilled at this point, as being not only physically and mentally challenging, but a difficult place to work because of the employee politics that go on. I plan to use her personal experience and reflection in relation to my topic whether it be in critique or support of my arguments.

Butler, Judith. "Performative Acts and Gender Constitution: An Essay in Phenomenology and

Feminist Theory." Theatre Journal, Vol. 40, No. 4. 1988. pp. 519-531.
In my paper, I plan to use the feminist theory of gender performance as articulated by Judith Butler. In her article, she argues that gender is an illusion, an object of belief rather than predetermined biologically. She describes the body as a continual and incessant materializing of possibilities of "doing" one's body. Butler explains that we choose the "what" of embodiment, but that choice is conditioned and circumscribed by historical convention.

I plan to use this theory in order to complicate the emotional labor that goes into serving as part of a gender performance in the restaurant business. I feel that serving is a performance that is utilized for an economic end which may occur consciously or unconsciously. The performative techniques may include make-up, accessories, work uniform and body language among others. Butler provides theoretical framework that is very useful when looking at serving.

Brewster, Zachary W., and Christine Mallinson. "Racial Differences in Restaurant Tipping: A Labour Process Perspective." Service Industries Journal. 2009.

In their article, Brewster and Mallison conduct research on restaurant tipping in relation to race. The bulk of research focuses on differences between white and black restaurant patrons in the United States. The authors present two dominant explanations for the disparities that exist: one is discriminatory behavior of restaurant servers and the other is African Americans' lack of familiarity with societal norms for tipping. The authors critique these frameworks and offer an alternative outlook. They look at the disparities as a result of utilitarian processes where the interpersonal relationship with unpredictable customers is explored as a possible reason.

This article provides an interesting source for my explorations with race and serving. Whether it be the racialized customer or the racialized server, Brewster and Mallison's research is an interesting take on race in the workplace. I think their research could be helpful in how I conduct my interviews. I am especially curious to see how white servers experience while serving African American customers. I already have a coworker's story that coincides with these authors' findings. Although there are issues with how their research was conducted, the authors give me a directional approach and an explanation that I can present to my coworkers. It will be interesting to hear how my coworkers react.

Adams, Maurianne, et al. ed. Teaching for Social Justice. Routledge. New York, 1997.

This text is a compilation of writings about the theoretical foundations of social justice education and suggested curriculum designs focusing on various oppressions. They outline learning models for homogenous and heterogeneous groups and general skills for facilitation. Within these models, assessing and addressing comfort zones, developing a common vocabulary, and working within a participatory structure are highlighted as vital tools for creating an environment for addressing social justice issues in education.

This sourcebook will provide a useful framework for navigating "difficult dialogues," specifically race, gender, class, and sexuality. I intend to use it as a springboard for considering different ways the positive tensions present in "difficult dialogues" can be incorporated into curricula. Their focus on lesson modules for topical classes (Racism, Heterosexism, Sexism, etc) is more contained then the work I am exploring but provides a grounded approach to thinking through my shared goal of approaching education with a commitment to social justice.

Berenice, Fisher. No Angel in the Classroom. Rowman and Littlefield Publisher's Inc. Maryland, 2001.

In this book, Fisher explores various elements of feminist educational practices within spaces of higher education. She discusses the possibilities of learning from women's experiences in order to access different forms of knowledge and discusses the creation of safe spaces in the classroom. Additionally, she theorizes how those spaces might translate to the world outside of the academy. Throughout these discussions she highlights complications arising from authority, specifically a misuse of authority, and questions the role of the feminist educator in caring for students.

Fisher's insight provides yet another layer to my thinking about the creation of a feminist learning space. I am particularly drawn to her discussion of care responsibilities since embodied work necessarily demands community building. I am interested in considering how this reduction of barriers might play out in larger conceptions of authority and power relations. Her experience-based approach to structuring the learning environment is also useful when thinking about the ways the development of liberatory pedagogical practices supports the process of self-actualization.

hooks, bell. Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. Routledge. New York, 1994.

hooks uses this book to theorize about educational practices through specific experiences during her teaching career. She brings a specific focus on engaged pedagogy, re-thinking and applying the ideas of Paulo Freire within a feminist framework, and explores the position of women of color educators within these pedagogical processes. Throughout these explorations she presents the possibility to transgress against racial, sexual, and class boundaries in order to experience education as a movement towards freedom. hooks approaches these discussion with an intense connection to feelings and emotions, calling for an awareness of the sacred nature of the work of educators.

I am particularly drawn to the work of hooks because she presents a discussion of the role of engaged pedagogy and the construction of a more egalitarian learning space from her position as a woman of color educator. It is possible that the fulcrum on which this construction of a learning space hinges is this particular subject position. hooks offers one possibility to understand how these pedagogical practices can re-conceptualize power structures in a ways that do not promote disrespect or devaluation of women of color educators.

Hanh, Thich Nhat. Peace is Every Step. Bantam Books. New York, 1991.

Thich Nhat Hanh is a Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk who explores the concept of mindfulness in everyday life. He structures this book through a series of simple activities that help us find our way back to ourselves and live in the present moment. He suggests that it is through these practices of mindfulness, peace can be realized. Our struggle for peace does not live outside of ourselves but within, and locating the peace in ourselves is the direct path to recognizing the joy, beauty, and peace in the world "outside."

These practices of mindfulness present an interesting extension of ideas of self-actualization, our vocation to become fully human, and the desire for nurturing community in learning spaces. These concepts of mindfulness in every breath we take, every smile, and every step we plant on the Earth have both a literal and spiritual connection to my explorations of embodiment and social justice. If we can locate within ourselves moments of peace, awareness, and a general pleasure for life, those moments will become the very sites of social transformation.