Teaching Philosophy

Teaching is never a neutral activity. As teachers, we have the power to reify certain forms of knowledge and particular ways of thinking. Even those of us who do not see teaching as a political act have the power (consciously or unconsciously) to reaffirm the status quo or to trouble it; to reinscribe relations of power and processes of marginalization, or to challenge them. Drawing on insights from intersectional feminist pedagogy, I understand teaching as a tool for social justice, and am committed to teaching students to think critically about the world around them and to develop reflexivity so that they might better understand their own role in it. As such, I am committed to what hooks has called ‘engaged pedagogy’ (1) that calls upon students to critically engage in knowledge production rather than to absorb knowledge as passive recipients. Informed by this pedagogical perspective, I understand my role as an instructor to be to both impart knowledge, and to empower students to think critically and reflexively about course content.

In keeping with my feminist pedagogical approach, I see the classroom as an important space through which to work for social justice. Teaching in the disciplines of Women’s Studies and Global Development, I have the opportunity to teach students about various social justice issues. Yet teaching social justice entails more than providing students with information about particular issues; it also requires that students learn to understand how these issues are linked to systems of oppression and privilege, and learn to recognize their positionality within these systems. It also requires teaching students to be critical about dominant frames of knowledge, and to understand the way in which knowledge systems and power relations can function in co-constituting ways. Thus, my courses emphasize that knowledge can be powerful, and that the way in which we engage in knowledge production inside and outside the classroom has implications for people’s experiences of dominance and oppression. As an example, in a fourth year class I taught on reproductive rights and justice, I assigned readings that examine how the production of particular knowledge regarding the biological effects of drug use interconnected with dominant assumptions about who uses particular kinds of drugs in ways that led to the marginalization of black women and created significant barriers to their reproductive freedom and access to health services. In addition, in my lecture I emphasized these aspects of the reading and facilitated a class discussion in order to push students to explore these ideas further (2). Through this process, students are taught not only to interrogate the assumptions that make particular kinds of knowledge production possible, but to think through what the implications of this knowledge might be.  As a result, I am able to use course materials in tandem with facilitated discussions to guide students to think critically about what they are being taught, as well as to become accountable for the kinds of knowledge they produce and disseminate inside and outside of academia.

Teaching critical thinking requires that students engage in active learning activities that push them to engage with rather than simply absorb course content. In smaller classes, interrogation of course material can take place as part of a guided class discussion, as well as in small group activities. In both seminar and lecture based classes I also use assignments to guide students to critical engagement with course materials, as well as with texts from their day to day lives. For instance, I assign critical reflection papers that require students to identify the assumptions at work in a particular text, as well as what the implications of the author’s argument might be for people’s lived experiences. Teaching students to identify how an author’s argument is shaped by existing understandings both teaches them to think critically, and to reflect on how their own academic work might be shaped by existing assumptions, as well as their position within social systems of privilege and oppression. Starting with a critique of course materials before teaching students to develop reflexivity in their own work can act as a way of overcoming the resistance that is often encountered when students are asked to acknowledge their own implication in systems of power (3).

I understand my role as an instructor is two pronged; to share my knowledge and expertise, and to facilitate students in developing skills and producing their own knowledge. As a learning facilitator, one of my responsibilities is to help create a learning community in which students can learn from me, as well as from engaging with each other in a thoughtful and respectful manner. It is not my expectation that this learning community will be free of conflict or discomfort; for both are crucial to the process of learning to think critically. Rather, I am committed to creating a space where conflict can be worked through respectfully through a process of calling in rather than calling out; that is, by being held accountable for what they say and/or write, and by being drawn into critical conversations regarding the implications of their words and the assumptions that underpin them.

In teaching for social justice, I commit myself to being an ally in the classroom to all marginalized groups regardless of whether or not they are represented among the student body. While I am committed to treating all students with understanding and compassion, I know that there are also times when certain statements must be not only challenged but contradicted.

Acting as an ally in the classroom means that I take responsibility for challenging statements that are harmful to marginalized communities, reiterate harmful stereotypes or justify systems and tools of oppression. Taking on this role ensures that students who occupy marginalized positions are protected as much as possible from having to endure additional oppression within the classroom, while also preventing them from feeling that they must become a spokesperson for their communities by taking on problematic statements. Furthermore, it is important that those communities who do not have a member (visibly) present be protected from the production of harmful knowledge that might contribute to their further marginalization. Thus, as a learning facilitator who is also committed to allyship with marginalized communities, I allow my students space to develop as critical thinkers, acting with compassion as they work through difficult learning processes while still holding them accountable for producing scholarship that is both rigorous and which does not harm others within our community. My commitment to teaching for social justice also motivates me to continuously pursue my professional development as an instructor, including remaining up to date on relevant pedagogical research and attending workshops and programs that help me develop my skills and teaching strategies.

1 hooks, b. (2010). Teaching Critical Thinking: Practical wisdom. New York: Routledge.
2 Roberts, D. (1997). Killing the Black Body: Race, reproduction and the meaning of liberty. New York: Vintage Books.
3 Case, K. and Cole, E. (2013). “Deconstructing Privilege when Students Resist: the journey back into the community of engaged learners”. In K. Case (ed). Deconstructing Privilege: teaching and Learning as Allies in the Classroom (34-48). New York: Routledge.