the foundational stuff

the aspiration of action: rebuilding the world for those for whom the world has not historically been built

...even at the risk of that world not having a place for us.

the principle of action: In order to honor the right to be critical, one must be willing to show up.

the method of action: What could democracy look like if we shift our models for political relationships from antagonistic or agonistic ones to (critically) pedagogical ones?

two key notes about the method:
  1) In asking the question, I am not making a claim about the nature of democratic life; it is not a claim that antagonism or agonism or conflict are not a dimension of politics. Rather, it is a speculative and experimental question asked about how we might reframe our actions in response to the acknowledgement of that conflict and its effects.
  2) As such, I often have trouble imagining this method outside of a context of solidarity or potential solidarity. Though deciding, in advance, what are/are not possible points of solidarity is also exactly what I hope critical pedagogy challenges us not to do. To be up front: this is a limitation of the method, but it is also a point of specification. (all this might not be incorrect, but certainly is incomplete. suggestions and dialogue welcome.)

---

the formal and institutional stuff

research, academic: Totally not incidentally, thinking through and making a case for the above is what my dissertation is about.

come to me for my expertise in: critical pedagogy // thinking about democracy // queer theory and queer of color critique and those intimately related, but not historically mutually interchangeable, traditions of discourse called "gender and sexuality studies," "women's studies," and "gay and lesbian studies" // critical race theory, race and ethnicity studies // contemporary politics and cultural critique (though oft, but not exclusively, focused on a North American context)

come to me for my familiarity with: Asian-American studies // science and technology studies // affect theory // disability studies // postcolonial thought // critical game studies // media studies with respect to 21st Century technologies that hold up contemporary public spheres // critiques of capitalism

certifications bestowing institutional legitimacy: (en route) to a PhD in Political Science from the University of Chicago // Graduate Certificate in Gender and Sexuality Studies // M.A. in Political Science from the University of Chicago // B.A. in Political Science and Women's Studies from Barnard College. (To index the historical shift, I include my majors. To be a part of it, Barnard now offers "Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.")

the one thing from an "honors and awards" section I can't even pretend not to be thrilled about: Wayne C. Booth Graduate Student Prize for Excellene in Teaching, The University of Chicago, 2017.

---