bell hooks and Luce Irigaray's Feminist Pedagogies in Education-Related Films
Main Article Content
Keywords
feminist pedagogy, hooks, Irigaray, films, classroom
Abstract
In this paper, we inquire about bell hooks and Luce Irigaray's ideal feminist classroom and propose a disruption of traditional pedagogy through the use of films as teaching pegs. Using a hooks-Irigaray feminist pedagogical framework, we look at the representations of classroom dynamics in ten education-related films from the 1960s to the 2000s as identified by Matthew Lynch in The Edvocate. We examine classroom portrayals of the following factors: (1) teacher's mindset, (2) perceived curriculum, and (3) interactions between students and teachers. We find that of the ten films, only four present the feminist pedagogical ideal of hooks-Irigaray. These films are To Sir with Love, Teachers, Dead Poets Society, and Freedom Writers. These films portray a transgressive-constructivist teaching approach which disrupts marginalizing processes of traditional pedagogy, and addresses multicultural diversity, power asymmetry, and dialogue built upon integrity and trust. These films may serve as examples for teachers, and bring forth new reflections and visualizations of what may constitute actual feminist pedagogical best practices.
Publication History
Version of Record online: August 22, 2022
Manuscript accepted: April 4, 2022
Manuscript revised: February 7, 2022
Manuscript received: December 5, 2020
References
Barnz, D. (2012, September 28). Won’t back down [Film; Drama]. Walden Media, Gran Via Productions, Lemodeln Model & Talent Agency.
Beyerbach, B. (2005). The social foundations classroom: Themes in sixty years of teachers in film: Fast times, dangerous minds, stand on me. Educational Studies, 37(3), 267–285. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15326993es3703_5
Biana, H. (2013). Reaching the unreached: Philippine distance education and dislocation. Journal of the Worldwide Forum on Education and Culture, 4(1), 73–84.
Biana, H. (2020). The philosophical heritage of bell hooks’ radical feminism and cultural criticism. Scientia, 9(2), 39–52.
Bloodsworth-Lugo, M. (2007). In-between bodies: Sexual difference, race, and sexuality. State University of New York Press.
Briskin, L., & Coulter, R. (1992). Introduction: Feminist pedagogy: Challenging the normative. Canadian Journal of Education / Revue Canadienne De L’éducation, 17(3), 247-263. https://doi.org/10.2307/1495295
Cheah, P., & Grosz, E. (1998). Of being-two: Introduction. Diacritics, 28(1), 3-18. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1566321
Clavell, J. (1967). To sir, with love [Film]. Columbia Pictures. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062376/
DiNatale, L. C. (2017). Composing in their own language: Feminist pedagogy in Richard LaGravenese’s Freedom writers. The International Journal of Critical Pedagogy, 8(1), Article 1. http://libjournal.uncg.edu/ijcp/article/view/1202
Domingo, R. (2011). The “gendered universal”: Luce Irigaray on sexual difference. In N. dela Cruz & J. Peracullo (Eds.), DLSU centennial set: Feminista: Gender, race, and class in the Philippines (pp. 38–52). Anvil Publishing.
Freire, P. (2000). Pedagogy of the oppressed (30th anniversary ed.). Continuum.
Hiller, A. (1984). Teachers [Film]. United Artists. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088242/
hooks, b. (1989). Talking back: Thinking feminist, thinking Black. South End Press.
hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to transgress: Education as the practice of freedom. Routledge.
hooks, b. (2003). Teaching community: A pedagogy of hope (1st ed.). Routledge.
hooks, b. (2010). Teaching critical thinking: Practical wisdom. Routledge.
Irigaray, L. (1994). Thinking the difference. Athlone Press.
Irigaray, L. (1997). Chi sono io? Chi sei tu? La chiave per una convivenza [Rapporto di consulenza]. Biblioteca di Casalmaggiore.
Irigaray, L. (2000). Democracy begins with two. Routledge.
Irigaray, L. (2004). Luce Irigaray: Key writings. Continuum.
Irigaray, L. (2008a). Conversations. Continuum.
Irigaray, L. (2008b). Luce Irigaray: Teaching. Continuum.
James, J., & Mohan, D. (2017). The discourse of 'other' in To sir with love. International Education and Research Journal, 3(11), 69–70.
Jaramillo, N., & McLaren, P. (2009). Borderlines: Bell hooks and the pedagogy of revolutionary change. Education Faculty Books and Book Chapters. https://digitalcommons.chapman.edu/education_books/76
LaGravenese, R. (2007, January 5). Freedom writers [Film; Biography, Crime, Drama]. Paramount Pictures, Double Feature Films, MTV Films.
Lynch, M. (2018). 10 education-related movies all teachers should watch. The Edvocate. https://www.theedadvocate.org/10-education-related-movies-allteachers-should-watch/
Matias, C. E. (2013). On the “flip” side: A teacher educator of color unveiling the dangerous minds of white teacher candidates. Teacher Education Quarterly, 40(2), 53–73.
McCusker, G. (2017). A feminist teacher’s account of her attempts to achieve the goals of feminist pedagogy. Gender and Education, 29(4), 445–460. https://doi.org/10.1080/09540253.2017.1290220
Mehta, A. (2019). Teaching gender, race, sexuality: Reflections on feminist pedagogy. Kohl: A Journal for Body and Gender Research, 5(1), 23–30. https://doi.org/10.36583/kohl/5-1-4
Menéndez, R. (1988, March 11). Stand and deliver [Film; Biography, Drama]. American Playhouse, Olmos Productions.
Mulligan, R. (1967, June 28). Up the down staircase [Film; Drama]. Park Place Productions.
Myung-Joo, K. I. M. (2014). Feminism and spirituality: Luce Irigaray, Judith Butler, and bell hooks. Journal of Gender Studies, 19(1), 71–90.
Oramas, M. (2002). A gendered education towards the fulfillment of democracy. Paragraph, 25(3), 66–77.
Priest, A. (2014). The provocations of Luce Irigaray. Journal of Academic Language & Learning, 8(3), A84–A90.
Sfeir, G. (2014). Critical pedagogy through popular culture. The Journal of Critical Scholarship on Higher Education and Student Affairs, 2(1), 15.
Smith, J. N. (1995). Dangerous minds [Film]. Hollywood Pictures. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0112792/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Stone, A. (2006). Luce Irigaray and the philosophy of sexual difference. Cambridge University Press.
Weir, P. (1989, June 9). Dead poets society [Film; Comedy, Drama]. Touchstone Pictures, Silver Screen Partners IV, A Steven Haft Production.
Yakin, B. (2000, September 29). Remember the titans [Film; Biography, Drama, Sport]. Jerry Bruckheimer Films, Run It Up Productions Inc., Technical Black.
Article Sidebar
Article Details
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.