Page 33 - Šolsko polje, XXXI, 2020, 5-6: Teaching Feminism, ed. Valerija Vendramin
P. 33
Feminism as Epistemic Disobedience
and Transformative Knowledge: Exploration
of an Alternative Educational Centre
Biljana Kašić, University of Zadar, Zadar, Croatia (retired)
Introductory Note: Difficulties
While approaching the issue of non-institutional education in
terms of feminism nowadays for this article, I must admit I felt
quite uncomfortable, even anxious, for several reasons. First, the
commitment made in this type of education cannot be measured at the lev-
el of type of institutional education but assumes a full socio-bodily engage-
ment, meaning the deep embeddedness of all subjects in the entire process.
Moreover, it is governed by ideals which, by critically analysing that very ed-
ucation, require a distinct ethico/political/theoretical stance coupled with
emancipatory educational politics as the ultimate foundation. Second, giv-
en that the feminist “we”, namely the status of the subject of feminism ly-
ing at the core of this type of education, now finds itself under the serious
threat of many current overlapping forces, we are facing new modes of ex-
clusions to attaining subjectivity and agency while questions of what these
categories mean have become more fragile and more difficult. Finally, what
is the main objective of the Centre for Women’s Studies in Zagreb in con-
tinuing with alternative education if it cannot challenge the mainstream
education in the full sense of that word, namely when its transformative
effects have consistently been ignored, ‘neutralised’ or even disrupted by
many factors, especially during the last few years. We are now witnessing
various obstructive contextual moments (neoliberal politics, market-ori-
ented academy, neo-conservative movement, retrograde backlash trends,
among others) on both the global and local levels as well as new-old preju-
dices with respect to feminist epistemology, disciplines and education.
https://doi.org/10.32320/1581-6044.31(5-6)31-47 31
Original scientific article
and Transformative Knowledge: Exploration
of an Alternative Educational Centre
Biljana Kašić, University of Zadar, Zadar, Croatia (retired)
Introductory Note: Difficulties
While approaching the issue of non-institutional education in
terms of feminism nowadays for this article, I must admit I felt
quite uncomfortable, even anxious, for several reasons. First, the
commitment made in this type of education cannot be measured at the lev-
el of type of institutional education but assumes a full socio-bodily engage-
ment, meaning the deep embeddedness of all subjects in the entire process.
Moreover, it is governed by ideals which, by critically analysing that very ed-
ucation, require a distinct ethico/political/theoretical stance coupled with
emancipatory educational politics as the ultimate foundation. Second, giv-
en that the feminist “we”, namely the status of the subject of feminism ly-
ing at the core of this type of education, now finds itself under the serious
threat of many current overlapping forces, we are facing new modes of ex-
clusions to attaining subjectivity and agency while questions of what these
categories mean have become more fragile and more difficult. Finally, what
is the main objective of the Centre for Women’s Studies in Zagreb in con-
tinuing with alternative education if it cannot challenge the mainstream
education in the full sense of that word, namely when its transformative
effects have consistently been ignored, ‘neutralised’ or even disrupted by
many factors, especially during the last few years. We are now witnessing
various obstructive contextual moments (neoliberal politics, market-ori-
ented academy, neo-conservative movement, retrograde backlash trends,
among others) on both the global and local levels as well as new-old preju-
dices with respect to feminist epistemology, disciplines and education.
https://doi.org/10.32320/1581-6044.31(5-6)31-47 31
Original scientific article
