Page 23 - Šolsko polje, XXXI, 2020, 5-6: Teaching Feminism, ed. Valerija Vendramin
P. 23
n. perger, m. mencin, v. tašner. ■ teaching feminism ...
the subjects: Sociology of Education, Learning Processes, Anatomy and
Physiology in Education, Psychology of Personality, and Sociology of
the Family. We were also unable to find a compulsory subject that deals
with gender in the Classroom Teaching programme. However, some gen-
der contents are covered in the following subjects: Basics of Pedagogy,
Language in Society, Psychology of Personality, and Sociology of Family.
Among the 2nd-level programmes, we found a subject entirely dedi-
cated to gender only in the Classroom Teaching programme, namely the
course Dynamics of Relationships and Gender.
From the perspective of gender mainstreaming, the analysis of se-
lected study programmes at all three faculties allows the conclusion that
some content on the topic of gender and gender equality can be found
in study programmes and that few optional courses exist after Bologna
(Antić Gaber, 2017, p. 23). But the situation is still far from satisfactory,
mostly due to the: a) optional character of the gender-related courses on
offer, meaning they do not reach the majority, let alone all students; and
b) gender being only one of the many topics in the specific context of an
individual course. The review demonstrates that the mentioned field of
knowledge remains quite marginalised.
Turning the Tables
After discussing the wider position of gender studies in higher education,
we continue with practical realisations of feminist teaching and wider
feminist practices within the academic field. For that, we first make an
excursion with an anecdote in order to reveal the institutional settings in
which feminist teaching is being implemented – or discouraged from do-
ing so – and the relations formed between attempts to perform feminist
teaching and the student population, as well as the positioning of feminist
practices within the academic field in order to discuss the possibilities of
feminist practices of resistance and institutional barriers, the bricks and
walls that feminist practices are encountering.
In 2015, one of the faculties of the University of Ljubljana prepared a
poster aimed at encouraging student enrolment. As the faculty chiefly has
women students, the poster primarily addressed potential male students
in order to reach a “gender balance”. To achieve this, the poster displayed
one male student in a group of female students who were kneeling before
him, stating “blissful among women”. According to the faculty’s leaders,
the poster was student-made. Yet, a minority of students protested against
the poster and thus a “public” debate was to be held to shed light on the
pressing question of what was informally labelled “the poster affair”: was
the poster an innocent joke (misunderstood by feminist students and
21
the subjects: Sociology of Education, Learning Processes, Anatomy and
Physiology in Education, Psychology of Personality, and Sociology of
the Family. We were also unable to find a compulsory subject that deals
with gender in the Classroom Teaching programme. However, some gen-
der contents are covered in the following subjects: Basics of Pedagogy,
Language in Society, Psychology of Personality, and Sociology of Family.
Among the 2nd-level programmes, we found a subject entirely dedi-
cated to gender only in the Classroom Teaching programme, namely the
course Dynamics of Relationships and Gender.
From the perspective of gender mainstreaming, the analysis of se-
lected study programmes at all three faculties allows the conclusion that
some content on the topic of gender and gender equality can be found
in study programmes and that few optional courses exist after Bologna
(Antić Gaber, 2017, p. 23). But the situation is still far from satisfactory,
mostly due to the: a) optional character of the gender-related courses on
offer, meaning they do not reach the majority, let alone all students; and
b) gender being only one of the many topics in the specific context of an
individual course. The review demonstrates that the mentioned field of
knowledge remains quite marginalised.
Turning the Tables
After discussing the wider position of gender studies in higher education,
we continue with practical realisations of feminist teaching and wider
feminist practices within the academic field. For that, we first make an
excursion with an anecdote in order to reveal the institutional settings in
which feminist teaching is being implemented – or discouraged from do-
ing so – and the relations formed between attempts to perform feminist
teaching and the student population, as well as the positioning of feminist
practices within the academic field in order to discuss the possibilities of
feminist practices of resistance and institutional barriers, the bricks and
walls that feminist practices are encountering.
In 2015, one of the faculties of the University of Ljubljana prepared a
poster aimed at encouraging student enrolment. As the faculty chiefly has
women students, the poster primarily addressed potential male students
in order to reach a “gender balance”. To achieve this, the poster displayed
one male student in a group of female students who were kneeling before
him, stating “blissful among women”. According to the faculty’s leaders,
the poster was student-made. Yet, a minority of students protested against
the poster and thus a “public” debate was to be held to shed light on the
pressing question of what was informally labelled “the poster affair”: was
the poster an innocent joke (misunderstood by feminist students and
21
