Unlearning Introductions: Problematizing Pedagogies of Inclusion, Diversity, and Experience in the Gender and Women’s Studies Introductory Course

Authors

  • Meg Devlin O'Sullivan SUNY New Paltz
  • Karl Bryant SUNY New Paltz
  • Heather Hewett SUNY New Paltz

Keywords:

diversity, experience, inclusion, pedagogy

Abstract

This article interrogates the ways in which the ideas of diversity, experience, and inclusion became central to the introductory Gender and Women’s Studies (GWS) course at one institution and the way that various stakeholders define and interpret these terms. After providing a short local history and analyzing current and former instructors’ understandings of these concepts as they function in the GWS introductory classroom, the authors further explore these themes with two case studies: transgender inclusion and Native American feminisms.

Résumé
Cet article s’interroge sur la manière dont les idées sur la diversité, l’expérience, et l’inclusion sont devenues centrales au cours d’introduction Études sur le genre et les femmes (EGF) dans un établissement d’enseignement et sur la manière dont les divers intervenants définissent et interprètent ces termes. Après avoir fourni un bref historique local et analysé la compréhension de ces concepts par les professeurs actuels et anciens lorsqu’ils exercent dans le cours d’introduction EGF, les auteurs explorent ces thèmes plus avant dans le cadre de deux études de cas : l’inclusion transgenre et les féminismes autochtones.

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Author Biographies

Meg Devlin O'Sullivan, SUNY New Paltz

Meg Devlin O’Sullivan is Assistant Professor of History and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at SUNY New Paltz. Her research focuses on identity, activism, and reproductive justice in women’s and Indigenous histories.

Karl Bryant, SUNY New Paltz

Karl Bryant is Associate Professor of Sociology and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at SUNY New Paltz. His research focuses on gender, sexuality, childhood, and medicalization.

Heather Hewett, SUNY New Paltz

Heather Hewett is Associate Professor of English and Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at SUNY New Paltz. Her research focuses on gender, caregiving, narrative, and transnational feminisms.

References

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Published

2015-10-28

Issue

Vol. 37 No. 2 (2) (2016): Belaboured Introductions

Section

37.2 - Belaboured Introductions

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