My teaching centers around discussions of gender, sexuality, race, and conceptions of space, place, emancipation, and colonialism. Below are some of the courses that I teach at UNC Charlotte.
In Fall 2021, I will be teaching “Theories of Resistance” and “Critical Race and Feminist Theory”.
Theories of Resistance (WGST/PHIL 4000/5000 or WGST/PHIL 6000)
Taking as its starting point the conception of “being human” developed in the work of decolonial theorist Sylvia Wynter, we examine the relation between dominant conceptions of the political subject-human and structures of knowledge production, as well as the impact such conceptions have in the contemporary context. Doing so provides a framework for theorizing the tools necessary for resisting dominant and oppressive structures that operate through a process of dehumanization. We will also consider the ways in which cartography and archives broadly construed operate either as perpetuating dominant structures, or as creating resistant terrains in the works of Katherine McKittrick, C. Riley Snorton, and Tiffany Lethabo King respectively. The course culminates in the development of a collective and nuanced account of Wynter’s conception of ceremony, as the foundation for liberation in the 21st century.
Indigenous Feminisms (WGST/PHIL 4000/5000)
The course focuses on Indigenous feminist writings that both aim toward a constructive project of maintaining and respecting indigenous ways of life, and that seek to address the detrimental consequences of U.S. and Canadian settler colonialism. We begin with a theoretical analysis of key concepts such as settler colonialism, Indigeneity, gender, and institutional racism. Using these key concepts, we will then examine present-day colonial formations located through state-sponsored child and family welfare services, patterns of incarceration, high rates of sexual violence, and the displacement of Indigenous peoples from their traditional lands. Lastly, we examine state-based efforts to address the needs of Indigenous communities, and collective strategies of resistance practiced by Indigenous women.
Theoretical Approaches to Gender (WGST/PHIL 6000)
The primary concern in this course is the intersection of gender and language. Specifically, we will address how writers attempted to represent gender through the act of writing, paying particular attention to the limits of language, relations between dominant narratives and marginal feminist perspectives, and consider ways of disrupting these dominant narratives. This course begins with French feminist theorists, such as Simone de Beauvoir, Luce Irigaray, and Julia Kristeva and their performances of feminine écriture (feminine writing), a technique which aims to create space for women centered theories of gender through writing. However, this course also seeks to further displace problematic sex and gendered categories by examining decolonial, queer, and anti-racist frameworks of analysis by such authors as Sylvia Wynter and Monique Wittig.
Critical Race and Feminist Theories (WGST 2000)
In this course, we examine the intersection of critical race theories and feminist thought. In particular, we develop a nuanced understanding of theories of empowerment and change. While this course is saturated with theoretical analysis, we also seek to understand the role of theory for feminist activism. Central to this course is the investigation of what is meant by feminism. We consider questions such as: What are the intended goals of feminist theory and practice? Who are its intended audience? And what must feminism be in order to be accountable to all women? Central themes we investigate are conceptions of difference, universal feminism, identity, sexuality, and solidarity. Along these lines we discuss notions of intersectionality, a theoretical resource which arose out of the work and experiences of women of colour who recognized the need to attend to how both race and sex/gender constitute interconnected forms of oppression.