Recently in FemPed Resources Category

In this dialogue alex and kim share their thoughts on

in the feminist classroom. We hope that this statement can also serve as a resource for our course blog to highlight the possibilites for social media in the feminist classroom!

keep in mind that you too can create text-to-movie videos to share in the feminist classroom. We would like to note that the scene and characters we used were the free options. click here to view the xtranormal site to create your own movies to share in the classroom!

RSA does some great videos in which they animate lectures by intellectuals. "This animate was adapted from a talk given at the RSA by Sir Ken Robinson, world-renowned education and creativity expert and recipient of the RSA's Benjamin Franklin award."

There are lots of different ways I could imagine engaging with this video from the perspective of feminist pedagogies. Here's just one: How should we bring social media into the conversation here? What role should/does it play in education (its limits and its possibilities for transformation?) At about 4 mins 29 secs in, Robinson discusses how "our children are living in the most intensely stimulating period in the history of the earth."

As we were discussing safety issues in class Wed. it made me think of the Triune Brain Theory (http://otheralternaterealities.com/Brain.aspx). The Triune Brain Theory in education asserts that learning cannot occur when students are in the reptilian brain...that students' basic safety needs must be met for them to feel comfortable enough to learn. So, I try hard to make sure all students are treated respectfully and that there is an atmosphere of safety and respect in my classes. I also like to begin each class period with a joke (usually a Chuck Norris joke) or an icebreaker to help make them feel more comfortable. I wondered then how the Triune Brain Theory relates to the intentional discomfort caused in a class...which is something else I like to do.

"As the administration has come to dominate instead of to serve the university, intellectual and educational values have been displaced by market ones like "efficiency" and "productivity." Faculty and students have been commensurately marginalized in the governance of the institution. We do not say that the university ought to be inefficient or unproductive, but we do demand that values central to scholarly and scientific inquiry and education be restored to the center of the university's endeavors, including (indeed, especially) the management of its finances".

I thought this video would ilustrate very well many of our discussions in class about what kind of university/education we are willing to build... Enjoy!

I was teaching a class of 100 students and I wanted to make sure that everyone was participating or involved in learning. I knew my class included several students who did not speak and understand English as they had studies in vernacular languages of their state. They tended to stick with their friends from their home state and who spoke better English. I knew I could not reach out to them as much as I would like to but their friends could. I tried to suggest a strategy where each student takes on the responsibility of teaching the other and vice versa so that they are both involved in the learning process and that I shall grade them together. But I could not figure out the nitty gritties of how such an activity would like, how it could be abused and whether I could even grade something like this. So, I decided to have an 'exhibition' where I made random groups and asked them to prepare on a topic and present it, not in the classroom, but in a hall. They could be creative about how they presented their material. Two students from each group would take turns in representing them so that everyone would participate. The unanticipated benefits of this strategy was that the environment was informal, where friends deliberately asked students difficult questions for fun and they tried to answer them. I could hear different languages as students explained what they knew to their friends. Students engaged in collaborative work and my role was to make sure that everyone did actually engage themselves.

I thought of this example as feminist because of bell hooks stressing on creating a learning community for all, crossing over barriers over language and where each takes part in the other's learning process. I proposed the ideas to my students and got the second idea approved by them. Secondly, this activity helped create a learning community which was informal, outside the classroom (in fact in their dorm) and allowed students to go in and out easily as they pleased. It was a lot of hard work for both students and me, but the activity helped us to study difficult topics in an engaged and collaborative way. Thirdly, students who normally did not engage with other students from outside their 'community' had to do so for this project. Lastly, the English language was taken over by other languages for communication.

Andreana Clay is a queer Black feminist scholar residing and teaching in California. She's also a blogger and tweeter. She describes herself in an 'About Me' section as "a queer, thirty-something, Black feminist who lives in the Bay Area. . .i write this blog because I want to see more queer, Black and feminist voices out there."

Her writing exemplifies feminist pedagogical principles because she critically confronts many of the complex issues that resonate with those of us that identify ourselves as both feminists and teachers. The public nature of her writing is also consistent with a femped perspective because she is creating opportunities for dialogue - for anyone who is online and interested. Attentive conversations, in a space that acknowledges and appreciates difference, are made accessible, without tuition, applications, or a TOEFL score. Clay tackles the intersections of many issues that are too often addressed in narrow terms.

The sad news is that, for whatever reason, Clay doesn't update often or regularly. Even so, I think her blog is a good example of what "public" feminist pedagogy can look like.

Another example of feminist pedagogical principles in action via-blogging can be found at Radicalicious.com, especially the blog's Roundtable posts. In a Roundtable post several individuals come together to reflect on issues of race in pop culture in regard to a new television show/episode. The dialogue is shared in transcript. Racialicious has also used the work of Andreana Clay to initiate a conversation about queer women of color and masculinity in hip hop (here).

Raised Questions
1. What are other examples of "public" feminist pedagogy?
2. How is what our blog accomplishes different from those like Clay's? What can we learn from those distinctions?
3. Ideally, who is the audience for our class blog?
4. What blogs could/would we potentially collaborate with?

Since the subject of Twitter clients for Android came up today, I poked around and noticed that Twitter apparently has its own client for Android 2.1. This is circa April 2010, so maybe there's something better out already; better-informed people than me are welcome to chime in. It sounds like Twitter is transitioning all clients to a new authenticating system (how it handles your password and such); their own client is already supported (and likely to stay well-supported, seems to me).

I'd like to invite everyone to continue to post this series to share other resources and tools, as the need arises.