Contesting Neoliberalism Through Critical Pedagogy, Intersectional Reflexivity, and Personal Narrative: Queer Tales of Academia

Abstract

In this essay, we use personal narrative to explore allies and alliance building between marginalized people working in and through higher education, with an eye toward interrogating the ways in which ideologies of neoliberalism work to maintain hierarchy through the legitimation of Othering. Inspired by Conquergood (1985), who calls scholars to engage in intimate conversation rather than distanced observation, we offer our embodied experiences as a way to use the personal to reflect upon the cultural, social and political. Our narratives often recount being out of place, moments of incongruence, or our marked Otherness. Through the sharing of these narratives, we will demonstrate the possibility for ally building based in affective connections forged through shared queer consciousness, paying particular attention to the ways in which neoliberal ideologies, such as individualism and postracism, may advance and impede such alliances.Key Words: alliance building, feminist theory, intersectional reflexivity, neoliberalism, personal narrative, queer pedagogy Jones, R. G., Jr., & Calafell, B. M. (2012). Contesting neoliberalism through critical pedagogy, intersectional reflexivity, and personal narrative: Queer tales of academia. Journal of Homosexuality, 59(7), 957-981. neoliberal policy recommendations include "deregulation of business, privatization of public activities and assets, elimination of or cutbacks in social welfare programs, and reduction of taxes on businesses and the investing class" (p. 65). Writing before the "great recession" he continues, with eerie accuracy, to note that "the neoliberal model creates instability on the macroeconomic level…by loosening public regulation of the financial sector. This renders the system more vulnerable to major financial crises and depression" (p. 66). Even though these claims clearly make a case for neoliberalism's culpability in our current economic downturn, neoliberalism's suspicion of government intervention in economic regulation can be seen in current negative reactions to continued government spending to try to invigorate the economy. In short, Kotz argues that suspicion of government intervention is based on the "grounds that such intervention is likely to create more problems than it solves" (p. 64). In fact, neoliberal economic 3 policies will likely not create more problems for big-business or the wealthy; however, the very voters who elected leaders, like Boehner, who taut these policies are not as likely to benefit.Slaughter and Rhoades (2004) explain: "The benefits of the neoliberal state [tend] to accrue less to the broad citizenry and more to large corporations, the wealthy, and the upper middle class"(pp. 309-310). These policies once again disenfranchise queers of color, and others, who are not represented within this upper middle class status.Neoliberal politics have also created a backlash against higher education as we face the growing problem of state budget crises and higher education and public employees in general, rather large corp...

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“…In this way, discussions about structural homophobia were minimized while individual Christian narratives about feeling persecuted dominated the classroom. In their article about personal narratives and queer identity, Jones and Calafell (2012) argued that this strategy is often used by White women in the classroom and in other professional settings against antiracist women of color, as it deflects blame and guilt, instead "victimizing" the White woman while centering Whiteness and reaffirming the savage Otherness of women of color. (p. 968)…”

The Troubled Past, Present Disjuncture, and Possible Futures: Intercultural Performance Communication

“…Reflexivity is a methodological process of accounting the way researchers' question, critique, and shift implications of their own ideas, beliefs, and values in shaping their productions of scholarship in and across historical and ideological contexts (Jones & Calafell, 2012). The way the researcher's body is a subjective site of knowledge and analysis shapes a process of research that always already requires critical interrogation (e.g., Alexander, 2012;Calafell, 2007Calafell, , 2013Calafell, , 2015Calafell & Moreman, 2010;Eguchi, 2015Eguchi, , 2019McIntosh, 2020;McIntosh & Hobson, 2013;Moreman & McIntosh, 2010).…”

Talking Back: Shifting the Discourse of Deficit to a Pedagogy of Cultural Wealth of International Instructors in US Classrooms

“…Consistent with the tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT), a pedagogy of cultural wealth is characterized by five important features (Yosso ). First, it highlights the importance of intersectionality, based on race, class, gender, sexuality, nation, and the body, among others, as simultaneous vectors of privilege and subordination (see, for example, Jones and Calafell ; Yep , forthcoming). Second, it challenges dominant cultural ideologies, such as color blindness and neoliberalism (see, for example, Giroux ; Jones and Calafell ).…”

“…First, it highlights the importance of intersectionality, based on race, class, gender, sexuality, nation, and the body, among others, as simultaneous vectors of privilege and subordination (see, for example, Jones and Calafell ; Yep , forthcoming). Second, it challenges dominant cultural ideologies, such as color blindness and neoliberalism (see, for example, Giroux ; Jones and Calafell ). Third, it recognizes the importance of experiential and cultural knowledges, including local and culturally specific ways of knowing (see, for example, Asante ; Miike ).…”