Page 61 - Šolsko polje, XXXI, 2020, 5-6: Teaching Feminism, ed. Valerija Vendramin
P. 61
r. šribar ■ study in the virtual class: doings of feminist pedagogy ...
– appear with no products on their face and in leisure clothes. Images,
mine included, have lost importance and words have gained since there
are fewer distractions. Zoom breakout rooms are dedicated to grouping
the students into small units enabling a relaxed discussion without the
teacher being present. Finally, each good-bye is performed in the vicini-
ty of the faces, and the lack of corporeality is compensated by the friend-
ly waving of hands. The mutual powering and transformation is moder-
ate, verbally confirmed in larger groups by approximately one-third of the
students. Their feedback consists of expressions like “I learned a lot”, “this
is new knowledge for me”, or “I like the subject”. When directly talking
about the connectivity of our topics and the active citizenship for social
change, my words are often reflected in the students’ nods and inquiries
into details of the case studies presented. My own transformations in the
private and public realm which have been inspired by the students inte-
grate an interest in feminist pedagogy, an elaborated skill of listening and
feeling for the other, more patience and wisdom in reaction to the public
scandals caused by government due to the government’s totalitarian reac-
tions against the protests of the non-parliamentary political left. The per-
sonality changes have not been planned or wished for. In the virtual class,
I am more a moderator than a teacher, and the tenets of moderation are
impacting my behaviour in and out of my professional role.
For the sake of a transparent presentation of the individual doings of
feminist pedagogy in class, I am exposing the teaching and learning, i.e.
the study experiences of my students, and my own. All of the ethnograph-
ic references were collected in the spring semester of the 2019/2020 study
year, and the autumn-winter semester of 2020/2021 while lecturing on
Gender-specific Socialisation, Family, Women and Gender Studies, and
Ethics and Morals in Science at the Faculty of Education, and the Social
Sources of Poverty in Youth, and Gender and Violence in the Erasmus
programme at the Faculty of Social Work, both at the University of
Ljubljana.
The problem of deconstructing institutional hierarchy has been con-
fronted by telling the students about the genealogy of my feminist sub-
jectivation and professional status, and interpreting the basic feminist
concepts, some in confrontation with the gender mainstreaming of the
European Commission, and the contemporary domineering feminist dis-
course. The students have given feedback by exhibiting curiosity and the
wish that more historical information about feminist movements be pre-
sented. In two-way communication, they have enumerated the most im-
portant bases of discrimination and oppression, and their awareness of
59
– appear with no products on their face and in leisure clothes. Images,
mine included, have lost importance and words have gained since there
are fewer distractions. Zoom breakout rooms are dedicated to grouping
the students into small units enabling a relaxed discussion without the
teacher being present. Finally, each good-bye is performed in the vicini-
ty of the faces, and the lack of corporeality is compensated by the friend-
ly waving of hands. The mutual powering and transformation is moder-
ate, verbally confirmed in larger groups by approximately one-third of the
students. Their feedback consists of expressions like “I learned a lot”, “this
is new knowledge for me”, or “I like the subject”. When directly talking
about the connectivity of our topics and the active citizenship for social
change, my words are often reflected in the students’ nods and inquiries
into details of the case studies presented. My own transformations in the
private and public realm which have been inspired by the students inte-
grate an interest in feminist pedagogy, an elaborated skill of listening and
feeling for the other, more patience and wisdom in reaction to the public
scandals caused by government due to the government’s totalitarian reac-
tions against the protests of the non-parliamentary political left. The per-
sonality changes have not been planned or wished for. In the virtual class,
I am more a moderator than a teacher, and the tenets of moderation are
impacting my behaviour in and out of my professional role.
For the sake of a transparent presentation of the individual doings of
feminist pedagogy in class, I am exposing the teaching and learning, i.e.
the study experiences of my students, and my own. All of the ethnograph-
ic references were collected in the spring semester of the 2019/2020 study
year, and the autumn-winter semester of 2020/2021 while lecturing on
Gender-specific Socialisation, Family, Women and Gender Studies, and
Ethics and Morals in Science at the Faculty of Education, and the Social
Sources of Poverty in Youth, and Gender and Violence in the Erasmus
programme at the Faculty of Social Work, both at the University of
Ljubljana.
The problem of deconstructing institutional hierarchy has been con-
fronted by telling the students about the genealogy of my feminist sub-
jectivation and professional status, and interpreting the basic feminist
concepts, some in confrontation with the gender mainstreaming of the
European Commission, and the contemporary domineering feminist dis-
course. The students have given feedback by exhibiting curiosity and the
wish that more historical information about feminist movements be pre-
sented. In two-way communication, they have enumerated the most im-
portant bases of discrimination and oppression, and their awareness of
59
