bell hooks and Luce Irigaray's Feminist Pedagogies in Education-Related Films

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.