Section
Three
Section
Three
Pages 386 - 403
Part 8: Feminist Pedagogy and
Politics: An Overview
This part is divided into eight sections.
The first section is an overview of part VIII.
The first section discusses how and what feminist theorists had interests
in, “Thematically, feminist theorists took interest in language, the natural
environment, feminist pedagogy, and popular culture” (pg. 387).
James B. Macdonald and Susan Colberg Macdonald and their resulting ideas
are mentioned and discussed. The
second section is “Internalized misogyny” which is discussing the work of
Meredith Reiniger. The third section is about “Florence R. Krall.”
Krall creates a “new form of curriculum inquiry in which feminist
themes, ecological metaphors, and autobiographical methods were linked” (pg.
388). Still in section three,
Steven Democher who “examined the concept and practice of ‘outdoor
education’ from gender and specifically feminist perspectives” (pg. 389) is
mentioned and discussed. Section
four, “Caring, voice, and solitude” is about “humane social relations”
(pg. 389). Nel Noddings, Kathleen
Casey, Geraldine Joncich Clifford, Petra Munro, Ann Berlak, Susan Stinson,
Delese Wear, Atkins, M. F. Belenky, Carol Gilligan, and Valerie Walkerdine are
all prominent women whose ideas are mentioned and discussed.
The fifth section is “Feminist pedagogy”.
In it, Elizabeth Ellsworth and Magda Lewis are mentioned quite
prominently. The sixth section is “Feminist ethnography,” in which
“A critical ethnography encourages women to develop their own perspectives
from which to study and change the world, while acknowledging subtle differences
and commonalities in their experiences of oppression” (pg. 394).
The seventh section is “Identity and popular culture”.
This section is about how gender is constructed in relation to curriculum
in the schools. The last section is
“Good wives,” which is emphasizing how women must become more than a good
wife.
Part 9: Gender Analysis and Male
Identity
There are three main sections in this part: “Curriculum as
Homosexual Text: The Scholarship of James T. Sears,” “Profeminist Men: The
Scholarship of Jesse Goodman,” and “Other Gender Analyses.”
This part starts off discussing homosexuality and how we as
educators must not only tolerate, but promote tolerance and acceptance in our
classrooms. The first section is
promoting the fact that homosexual students may suffer if nothing is done to
help them through their realization that they are gay; we need to train
counselors and others in how to work effectively with homosexual students.
It is also mentioned that the shift in sexual orientation in schools is
similar to that of the shift in feminist theory. The second section is in support of women.
Profeminist men are men who stand up for equal rights for women in
society and speak out for them against other men who may be more domineering in
a “man’s world”. The third
section explores what it means to be a man or a woman, straight or gay, and how
this affects curriculum.
Part 10: Conclusion:
Isolation and Influence
By examining how we, as educators, discuss gender, politics, and culture with students, we are beginning to understand how curriculum is formed. We need to understand how gender “forms and deforms us” (pg. 403) and how this affects curriculum. We’ll leave you with a closing thought, “What Pinar and Miller wrote in 1982 remains true in 1994: ‘Feminist thought to date operates in relative isolation from other eddies of curriculum theory and practice, but its ripples will have profound . . . influence” (pg. 403).
Discussion Question:
Having had time to read and reflect on feminist pedagogy and politics, and gender analysis and male identity, what do you believe are some of the pressing problems in curriculum today? Do you address homosexuality in your classroom or is it a topic you avoid? If you address homosexuality, how do you talk about it? Do you discuss prominent and famous people or is it something that is looked down upon and degraded?