Moving across Differences

Grounded in ethnography and teacher research, Moving across Differences examines how an LGBTQ+-themed literature course enabled high school students to negotiate their differences and engage in ethical encounters. Drawing on the work of queer theorists, Mollie V. Blackburn conceptualizes these encounters as forms of movement across differences of not only gender and sexuality but also identity and ideology more broadly. As we follow Blackburn's thoughtful rendering of students' sometimes fraught exchanges, we are encouraged to follow their lead and move when confronted with differences. We might move closer to those like us, so we can be in community to recover and heal. But we might also move closer to others, so we can discover and learn. The book argues, though, that we must move ethically and, moreover, that literature and the work of reading, writing, and talking can foster this movement. Modeling care in both teaching and research, Moving across Differences contributes to the study and practice of English Language Arts curriculum and pedagogy, qualitative methods, and queer theory.This book is freely available in an open access edition thanks to TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem)—a collaboration of the Association of American Universities, the Association of University Presses, and the Association of Research Libraries—and the generous support of The Ohio State University Libraries. Learn more at the TOME website, available at: https://www.openmonographs.org/. It can also be found in the SUNY Open Access Repository at https://soar.suny.edu/handle/20.500.12648/752

Ardent Notions: a contemporary Everywoman's essence examined

Ardent Notions is an installation of objects that form a personal narrative expressing my points of origin, current passions and future hopes. I employ self-specific imagery referencing family, home and partnership to convey the very essence of my `tiny human heart.' I want the viewer to form connections with subject matter concerning mapping, place, relationships, womanhood, love and the cyclical nature of life. As a contemporary metalsmith and jeweler, I work intuitively combining both ancient and modern techniques to create pieces that translate the collected mementos of my life into wearable art objects. Employing circular forms that reference the cyclical nature of life, I create pieces that contain personal sanctuary. My design aesthetic is driven by the challenge to successfully amalgamate hobbyist materials with precious metals mined from the veins of Earth. Garden iconography and architectural structures are used to surround and protect my heart within a nurturing environment

Moving across Differences

Grounded in ethnography and teacher research, Moving across Differences examines how an LGBTQ+-themed literature course enabled high school students to negotiate their differences and engage in ethical encounters. Drawing on the work of queer theorists, Mollie V. Blackburn conceptualizes these encounters as forms of movement across differences of not only gender and sexuality but also identity and ideology more broadly. As we follow Blackburn's thoughtful rendering of students' sometimes fraught exchanges, we are encouraged to follow their lead and move when confronted with differences. We might move closer to those like us, so we can be in community to recover and heal. But we might also move closer to others, so we can discover and learn. The book argues, though, that we must move ethically and, moreover, that literature and the work of reading, writing, and talking can foster this movement. Modeling care in both teaching and research, Moving across Differences contributes to the study and practice of English Language Arts curriculum and pedagogy, qualitative methods, and queer theory.This book is freely available in an open access edition thanks to TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem)—a collaboration of the Association of American Universities, the Association of University Presses, and the Association of Research Libraries—and the generous support of The Ohio State University Libraries. Learn more at the TOME website, available at: https://www.openmonographs.org/. It can also be found in the SUNY Open Access Repository at https://soar.suny.edu/handle/20.500.12648/7524</a

Reading and writing for social change: Exploring literacy performances and identity work with queer youth

This study is a critical and activist ethnography that explores literacy performances and identity work of queer youth. These youth often experience abuse, neglect, isolation, and self-contempt as a result of heterosexism and homophobia. These forms of oppression are catalysts for queer youth dropping out of schools, obstacles in their literacy learning, and barriers to their identity work. As such, they become problems in the field of educational literacy research. Grounded in New Literacy Studies, Queer Theory, and Feminism, this study addresses these problems by exploring with queer youth the ways in which their literacy performances and identity work disrupt the heterosexism and homophobia in their lives. The study draws from the experiences shared and relationships developed with youth over a three-year period in which the researcher worked in an urban youth-run center for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth. Through this work, I observed and worked with youth as they used literacy performances to engage in identity work as queer youth, to imagine what it would be like to do this kind of work in other contexts, and to make space for themselves to implement these imaginings. I understood youth working both to separate and synthesize the work they do in and out of the center, the community, and school. Further I worked with youth as they struggled to develop identities that connected them with communities while distinguishing them as individuals. Activism played an important role in their work together not only because it allowed them to assert their agency in working against that which oppressed them but also because it allowed them to experience both individual and group identities, without having to sacrifice one for the other. This study contributes to the educational literacy research conversations that explore literacy, identity, and in and out of school learning in ways that not only make the queer heard, but also work to disrupt the notion of mainstream and marginal so that all youth who have been traditionally underserved in schools and communities have opportunities to read and write for social change

Reading and writing for social change: Exploring literacy performances and identity work with queer youth

This study is a critical and activist ethnography that explores literacy performances and identity work of queer youth. These youth often experience abuse, neglect, isolation, and self-contempt as a result of heterosexism and homophobia. These forms of oppression are catalysts for queer youth dropping out of schools, obstacles in their literacy learning, and barriers to their identity work. As such, they become problems in the field of educational literacy research. Grounded in New Literacy Studies, Queer Theory, and Feminism, this study addresses these problems by exploring with queer youth the ways in which their literacy performances and identity work disrupt the heterosexism and homophobia in their lives. The study draws from the experiences shared and relationships developed with youth over a three-year period in which the researcher worked in an urban youth-run center for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning youth. Through this work, I observed and worked with youth as they used literacy performances to engage in identity work as queer youth, to imagine what it would be like to do this kind of work in other contexts, and to make space for themselves to implement these imaginings. I understood youth working both to separate and synthesize the work they do in and out of the center, the community, and school. Further I worked with youth as they struggled to develop identities that connected them with communities while distinguishing them as individuals. Activism played an important role in their work together not only because it allowed them to assert their agency in working against that which oppressed them but also because it allowed them to experience both individual and group identities, without having to sacrifice one for the other. This study contributes to the educational literacy research conversations that explore literacy, identity, and in and out of school learning in ways that not only make the queer heard, but also work to disrupt the notion of mainstream and marginal so that all youth who have been traditionally underserved in schools and communities have opportunities to read and write for social change

Moving across Differences: How Students Engage LGBTQ+ Themes in a High School Literature Class

This book is freely available in an open access edition thanks to TOME (Toward an Open Monograph Ecosystem)—a collaboration of the Association of American Universities, the Association of University Presses, and the Association of Research Libraries—and the generous support of The Ohio State University Libraries. Learn more at the TOME website, available at: https://openmonographs.org.Introduction: Theoretical, Empirical, and Contextual -- Moving with Respect to Sexual Diversity in Classroom Encounters -- Moving with Respect to Gender Diversity in Classroom Encounters -- Moving with Respect to Racial Diversity in Classroom Encounters -- Moving with Respect to Religion in Classroom Encounters -- Moving with Respect to Families in Classroom Encounters -- Moving, (For)Giving, and Ethical Classroom Encounters -- Conclusion: Moving and Giving toward Ethical Encounters