Feminist Anthropology and Critical Pedagogy: The Anthropology of Classrooms’ Excluded Voices

Critical pedagogy challenges the exclusionary practices of racism, sexism, ablism, and heterosexism in the dominant society. The exponents of critical pedagogy have rejected the traditional view of classroom instruction in favour of ap- proaches that challenge the status quo. In this paper, by reviewing some of my teaching experiences as a woman of colour, I demonstrate that not all teachers teach pedagogy in the same way. Based on my observations, I argue that debates on critical pedagogy should include voices from outside the dominant social groups and ethnicities, be they teachers’ or students’ voices. Furthermore, the success of teaching for social change depends on our ability to incorporate these critical approaches in conventional courses and subject matters where, in my experience, not all students would welcome unconventional classroom relations. La pédagogie critique conteste les pratiques d’exclusion que sont, dans les groupes sociaux dominants, le racisme, le sexisme, l’hétérosexisme et la discrimi- nation fondée sur les déficiences. Les chefs de file de la pédagogie critique rejettent l’enseignement traditionnel au profit d’approches qui mettent en question le statu quo. Dans cet article, l’auteure démontre, tout en analysant certaines de ses expériences pédagogiques en tant que Noire, que tous les enseignants n’ensei- gnent pas la pédagogie de la même manière. Se fondant sur ses observations, l’auteure soutient que les débats sur la pédagogie critique devraient inclure des points de vue provenant d’ethnies ou de groupes sociaux non dominants, qu’il s’agisse des points de vue des enseignants ou des élèves. Le succès de la pédagogie eu égard aux changements sociaux dépend de notre aptitude à incorpo- rer ces approches critiques dans les matières et les cours traditionnels où, d’après l’expérience de l’auteure, tous les élèves ne sont pas disposés à accueillir favorablement des méthodes d’enseignement non traditionnelles.

Feminist Anthropology and Critical Pedagogy: The Anthropology of Classrooms’ Excluded Voices

Critical pedagogy challenges the exclusionary practices of racism, sexism, ablism, and heterosexism in the dominant society. The exponents of critical pedagogy have rejected the traditional view of classroom instruction in favour of ap- proaches that challenge the status quo. In this paper, by reviewing some of my teaching experiences as a woman of colour, I demonstrate that not all teachers teach pedagogy in the same way. Based on my observations, I argue that debates on critical pedagogy should include voices from outside the dominant social groups and ethnicities, be they teachers’ or students’ voices. Furthermore, the success of teaching for social change depends on our ability to incorporate these critical approaches in conventional courses and subject matters where, in my experience, not all students would welcome unconventional classroom relations. La pédagogie critique conteste les pratiques d’exclusion que sont, dans les groupes sociaux dominants, le racisme, le sexisme, l’hétérosexisme et la discrimi- nation fondée sur les déficiences. Les chefs de file de la pédagogie critique rejettent l’enseignement traditionnel au profit d’approches qui mettent en question le statu quo. Dans cet article, l’auteure démontre, tout en analysant certaines de ses expériences pédagogiques en tant que Noire, que tous les enseignants n’ensei- gnent pas la pédagogie de la même manière. Se fondant sur ses observations, l’auteure soutient que les débats sur la pédagogie critique devraient inclure des points de vue provenant d’ethnies ou de groupes sociaux non dominants, qu’il s’agisse des points de vue des enseignants ou des élèves. Le succès de la pédagogie eu égard aux changements sociaux dépend de notre aptitude à incorpo- rer ces approches critiques dans les matières et les cours traditionnels où, d’après l’expérience de l’auteure, tous les élèves ne sont pas disposés à accueillir favorablement des méthodes d’enseignement non traditionnelles.

Electoral Politics: Making Quotas Work for Women

The goal of reducing gender inequalities in political representation has been elusive in many different kinds of political systems, even though women have made substantial progress in other areas, such as education, employment and healthcare. This wonderfully accessible book argues that gender quotas are an important strategy to improve women’s political representation in legislatures and political parties and it lays out the history of this approach across the globe. It suggests however, that gender quotas are themselves not an ‘easy fix’ to gender discrimination since similarly designed quotas have had different outcomes across cases. The book’s comparative approach untangles the various factors which need to be considered in designing, lobbying for, and implementing gender quotas so that they can be effective. This volume is tremendously useful and informative for activists and scholars across the globe and does a masterful job explaining divergent outcomes both within regions and across them. While teasing out some shared experiences, it encourages coalitions of activists to develop context-appropriate strategies to craft effective campaigns to end women’s exclusion from political decision-making. Hoodfar and Tajali argue that although increasing countries are successfully and creatively using gender quotas, some of the wealthiest long-standing democracies still continue to experience greater legislative gender inequalities

Irã: políticas islâmicas e mulheres em busca de igualdade

No Irã, a fusão de um Estado forte com leis e instituições religiosas após a revolução iraniana de 1979, gerou uma estrutura estatal dual. As instâncias não eleitas exercem ali o controle sobre os órgãos eleitos e, na maioria das vezes, não aceitam o primado da democracia nem tampouco o princípio de igualdade entre os sexos (ou entre muçulmanos e não muçulmanos). A questão central que se coloca aqui é a de saber se um Estado religioso é capaz de se adequar a tais normas. O exame das políticas implementadas mostra que, no caso do Irã e do xiismo, o principal obstáculo deve-se mais  às relações não democráticas entre Estado e Sociedade do que à compatibilidade (ou falta de) real ou potencial das tradições e práticas religiosas com os princípios democráticos

Master Mind Master Class with Homa Hoodfar

In March 2016, Canadian-Iranian academic Homa Hoodfar, best known for her research on the role of women in Muslim societies, was arrested in Tehran by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. She was accused publicly of “dabbling in feminism and security matters” related to the recent election, and in June, after her bail was increased, she was jailed in Tehran’s Evin Prison. There she faced many long interrogation sessions, constant threats of lengthy jail sentences and psychological torture while suffering from deteriorating health. In late September, after months of campaigning and diplomatic maneuvering, she was finally released and returned to Canada. Please join us for a very special evening where Professor Hoodfar will share her story and discuss the reasons why academic freedom remains so important in modern society and why freedom of expression needs to be protected as a global right.AlumniNon UBCUnreviewedResearcherOthe

Between marriage and the market: intimate politics and survival in Cairo

Homa Hoodfar's richly detailed ethnography provides a rare glimpse into the daily life of Arab Muslim families. Focusing on the impact of economic liberalization policies from 1983 to 1993, she shows the crucial role of the household in survival strategies among low-income Egyptians. Hoodfar, an Iranian Muslim by birth, presents research that undermines many of the stereotypes associated with traditional Muslim women. Their apparent conservatism, she says, is based on rational calculation of the costs and benefits of working within formal and informal labor markets to secure household power. She posits that increasing adherence to Islam and taking up the veil on the part of women has been partially motivated by women's desire to protect and promote their interests both within and beyond households

Health as a Context for Social and Gender Activism: Female Volunteer Health Workers in Iran

Having reversed its pronatalist policies in 1988, the Islamic Republic of Iran implemented one of the most successful family planning programs in the developing world. This achievement, particularly in urban centers, is largely attributable to a large women-led volunteer health worker program for low-income urban neighborhoods. Research in three cities demonstrates that this successful program has had a host of unintended consequences. In a context where citizen mobilization and activism are highly restricted, volunteers have seized this new state-sanctioned space and successfully negotiated many of the familial, cultural, and state restrictions on women. They have expanded their mandate from one focused on health activism into one of social, if not political, activism, highlighting the ways in which citizens blur the boundaries of state and civil society under restrictive political systems prevalent in many of the Middle Eastern societies. Copyright (c) 2010 The Population Council, Inc..

Volunteer health workers in Iran as social activists : can "governmental non-governmental organisations" be agents of democratisation?

Homa Hoodfa