ERIC Number: EJ1396095
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0092-055X
EISSN: EISSN-1939-862X
Capturing Dis/Comfort and Navigating Transformation in the Gender Studies Classroom
Heijstra, Thamar Melanie; Pétursdóttir, Gyða Margrét
Teaching Sociology, v51 n4 p349-361 2023
Creating a positive classroom experience for students can be a challenge, especially when teaching a contested topic such as gender studies. Teaching and learning gender is teaching and learning against the grain, which can lead to feelings of comfort and discomfort among students. The objective is to capture different manifestations of dis/comfort and transformation within the classroom by presenting a case based on gender studies. The study builds on course evaluations collected between 2009 and 2019. The findings reveal three appearances of dis/comfort: inexplicit manifestations, explicit manifestations, and a transformation stage in which the experienced dis/comfort operates as a steppingstone leading to possible change through affective dissonance. We suggest that discomfort can be mitigated by openly discussing resistance and by giving students more autonomy over course assessment and lecture content but without watering down the curricula. Thus, it is possible to navigate transformation and reduce compliancy with the ruling regime.
Descriptors: Gender Issues, Course Evaluation, Resistance (Psychology), Controversial Issues (Course Content), Personal Autonomy, Student Attitudes, Course Content, Emotional Response, Foreign Countries, College Students, Attitude Change
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Iceland
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A