2. Research Problem
Of the literature examined on queer issues and pedagogy I
found it has failed in offering a more descriptive account of
the interactions and exchanges that occur in the writing
classroom, especially the events that are specific to critical
thinking of the construction of sexual identity. It would be
beneficial for teachers considering queer pedagogy to have a
detailed description of what to expect before venturing into
the critical task of queer pedagogy.

3. Historical account of the
concepts
0 Homosexuality as a medical condition, and how the gay
community adopted the medical terms in their own
identity nomenclature like “invert” and “deviant”(P. Butler,
2004, Hegna, 2007)
0 Stonewall 1970’s (Butler, 2004; Cooper, 2004; Elliot, 2004)
0 Political sense of coming out (Elliot, 2004; Fox 2007;
Krywanczyk, 2008)

4. (cont.) “Gay Nineties”
0 Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick (1990) Epistemology of the
Closet
0 Judith Butler (1990) Gender Trouble: Feminism and the
Subversion of Identity
0 --- (1993) Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits
of Sex
0 Harriet Milanowitz (1995) Textual Orientations:
Lesbian and Gay Students and the Making of Discourse
Communities

5. (cont.) “Queering Pedagogy”
0 “Queer turn” in “multicultural approaches to
composition” (Alexander & Wallace, 2009)
0 Accounts of “queering” pedagogy experiences by
teachers: risks, safe spaces, power, and methods
(Butler, 2004; Cooper, 2004; Gulla, 1999; Krywanczyk,
2008; Monson & Rhodes, 2004; Winans, 2006)

6. Research Questions
1. How does queer pedagogy work in a writing classroom of the RUM to teach
students to think critically about the ways in which they construct their sexual
identities?
a. How could teachers create a safe space in the writing classroom to lay the
grounds for sharing sensitive information?
b. Is there a particular order to create a safe space?
c. What are the effects of teachers coming out to their students?
d. What methods are most effective in a queer pedagogy-writing classroom for
tension to be negotiated without violence?
e. What type of violence was most present in the classroom if any?

7. Methodology
0 Type of study:
0 Qualitative: “thick description”
0 Action Research: Participation of students and teacher
0 Interview and gathering documents of teacher

8. Research sites
0 UPRM INGL 3000 INTERMEDIATE II
0 Historical importance: first faculty member giving
course
0 Two teaching assistants have taught queer issues

9. Time frame, sampling
0 Time
0 Spring 2011-12
0 Sampling
0 Convenience
0 Volunteer: non GE course, communication (flyers)
0 30 student section

10. Methods
0 Teacher interview
0 Collection of documents: course proposal, flyer, syllabus
0 Student participants
0 Individual journal keeping by the students
0 Collection of documents

11. Analysis
0 Discourse analysis
0 “Discourses can be regarded as sets of linguistic
material that are coherent in organization and content
and enable people to construct meaning in social
contexts.” (Cohen et al. 2007, p. 386)
0 Triangulation: interview teacher, students journals, and
as set of documents from which to compare.

12. Conclusion
0 For decades the goals of queer theory have been
consistent, which are to challenge homophobia, the
homo/hetero binary, and the exclusion and silencing of the
LGBT community in all aspects of life. That struggle
continues to be the force behind efforts of queer pedagogy.
My wish is that this study proves that the efforts and risks
that teachers take in queering their classroom will pay off
in accomplishing these goals.

13. References
0 Alexander, J., & Wallace, D. (2009). The Queer Turn in Composition Studies: Reviewing and Assessing an Emerging
Scholarship. College Composition and Communication, 61(1), W300-W320.
0 Butler, J. (1993). Bodies That Matter: On the Discursive Limits of “Sex” (1st ed.). Routledge.
0 Butler, J. (1989). Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. Routledge.
0 Butler, P. (2004). Embracing AIDS: History, Identity, and Post-AIDS Discourse. JAC 24(1): 93-111. Retrieved from
http://www.engl.unt.edu/~kjensen/practice/jaconline/archives/vol24.1/ butler-embracing.pdf
0 Cooper, J. (2004) Queering the Contact Zone. JAC 24(1): 23-45. Retrieved from http://www.engl.unt.edu/~kjensen/
practice/jaconline/archives/vol24.1/cooper-queering.pdf
0 Elliott, M. (1996). Coming out in the Classroom: A Return to the Hard Place. College English, 58(6), 693-708.
doi:10.2307/378394
0 Fox, C. (2007). From Transaction to Transformation: (En)Countering White Heteronormativity in “Safe Spaces.”
College English, 69(5), 496-511. doi:10.2307/25472232
0 Gulla, A. N. (1999). Textual Orientations: Gay and Lesbian Students and the Making of Discourse Communities. Paper
presented at the Biennial Conference of the International Federation for the Teaching of English, Warwick, England.
Retrieved from http://www.nyu.edu/education/teachlearn/ifte/amanda1.htm.
0 Hegna, K. (2007). Coming Out, Coming Into What? Identification and Risks in the “Coming Out” Story of a Norwegian
Late Adolescent Gay Man. Sexualities, 10(5), 582 -602. doi:10.1177/1363460707083170
0 Krywanczyk, L. (2008). Queering Public Pedagogy in New York City. SQS 1(8): 28-41. Retrieved from
http://www.helsinki.fi/jarj/sqs/sqs1_08/sqs12008krywanczyk.pdf
0 Malinowitz, H. (1995). Textual Orientations: Lesbian and Gay Students and the Making of Discourse Communities.
Boynton/Cook.
0 Monson, C., & Rhodes J. (2004). Risking Queer: Pedagogy, Performativity, and Desire in Writing Classrooms. JAC 24(1):
79-91. Retrieved from http://www.engl.unt.edu/~kjensen/ practice/jaconline/archives/vol24.1/ monson-risking.pdf
0 Winans, A. E. (2006). Queering Pedagogy in the English Classroom: Engaging with the Places Where Thinking Stops.
Pedagogy, 6(1), 103-122.