Queer pedagogy as spiritual practice

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Brian Dwight Ammons (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Leila Villaverde

Abstract: The purpose of this research is to explore unlikely intersections between the seemingly divergent streams of spirituality and queer theory in the discourses around education. When brought into conversation, the two produce creative tensions particularly in regards to constructions of knowledge and subjectivity. In an interrogation of "spirituality" as a construct in education, I map a genealogy through Enlightenment and Transcendental thought arguing that "spirituality" in its popular usage cannot be understood apart from a larger explication of Western religious liberalism, and in particular liberal Christianity. I then turn towards a consideration of the utility of such a construct in light of the erosion of the foundational thought on which it depends. Having both levied my critiques of "spirituality" and argued a case for its usefulness, I consider what sort of theological framework is functional as an underpinning for a spirituality concerned with critical pedagogy. My discussion takes shape in relation to three practices more commonly spoken of in Christian discourse: hospitality, embodiment, and testimony. I explore these three concepts as they support an understanding of queer pedagogy as spiritual practice, particularly in regards to my own teaching experience. Highlighting the investment of both queer pedagogy and spiritual practices in drawing attention to the limits of knowability, I demonstrate how framing queer pedagogy as spiritual practice might enrich both discourses.

Additional Information

Publication
Dissertation
Language: English
Date: 2010
Keywords
Pedagogy, Queer, Spirituality
Subjects
Queer theory.
Education $x Study and teaching.
Sprituality.
Christianity.
Critical Pedagogy.

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