Education as the Practice of Freedom – Reading Group Series (Session 1): Liberatory Teaching Methods (In-Person)

bell hooks’s Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Released in 1994, this book has become a seminal work of critical pedagogy theory. A collection of essays covering a wide range of topics, from hooks’s own experiences of schooling to her difficulties finding space for Black feminist literature in the university classroom, to building solidarity in university spaces, Teaching to Transgress remains necessary reading for university educators. Its combination of personal narrative and critical theory demonstrates the importance of combining theory and practice in our own teaching—the importance of drawing from our own schooling experiences to become more equitable, compassionate educators. 

In this three-part, brown bag lunchtime discussion group, facilitators will select passages from the book, closely read and analyze these passages with participants, and pose a series of discussion questions to motivate and moderate conversation. In this first session, we will focus on Liberatory Teaching Methods. Together, we will reflect on how we might draw from personal experiences to combat oppression through our teaching. Participants may sign up for all three sessions, or just one or two. 

In this session, we'll be covering excerpts from the Introduction: Teaching to Transgress, Chapter One: Engaged Pedagogy, Chapter Five: Theory as Liberatory Practice, and Chapter 6: Essentialism and Experience. Participants are welcome to read these in advance of our meeting, but preparation is not required nor is it expected. We will cover some selected excerpts together, during the discussion period.