This page is for students and educators interested in rethinking the syllabus as a digital space, a site of community building, and an act of love. Give me your feedback here.
“The classroom remains the most radical space of possibility in the academy.”
— bell hooks, Teaching to Transgress p. 12
my pedagogical values
We are all impacted by systems of oppression and freedom dreams. Postcolonial Transnational Feminisms scholar, Chandra Mohanty, writes that “Coimplication refers to the idea that all of us...share certain histories as well as certain responsibilities: ideologies of race define both white and black peoples, just as gender ideologies define both women and men. Thus, while ‘‘experience’’ is an enabling focus in the classroom, unless it is explicitly understood as historical, contingent, and the result of interpretation, it can coagulate into frozen, binary, psychologistic positions.” (203)
— co-implication
In this classroom, we make room for both wisdom and knowledge. Schooling prepares us value knowledge production from scholars and experts. This class also values wisdom: the skills, insights, and revelations that come from experience, oral histories, embodied knowledge (your gut, your heart), and ancestral lineage. The academy will always reward your proficiency and mastery of knowledge; however, beyond these four walls, wisdom is the currency of survival and transformation.
— wisdom & knowledge
I know unquestionably that I am my ancestors’ absolute wildest dream. Because of that, I am relentlessly hopeful. I derive my framework of hope from Oakland High School teacher and Critical Pedagogy scholar, Jeff Duncan-Andrade (JDA) but, like him, this vision is shaped by a cacophony of artists, scholars, aunties, and students. Critical Hope is the imagination, belief, and tenacious will to try new things and fail hard despite the odds and despite the evidence. Critical hope invites criticality, skepticism, and analysis in the service of transformation.
— critical hope
These values come together in a constellation of bright fiery stewards to guide us through complex material and discussions. Ultimately, it is my aspiration that by putting these beliefs into motion in class, we all can disrupt power.
my values in praxis
your presence
Collage by Anna Almore
your accountability
Collage by Anna Almore
your wellbeing
Collage by Anna Almore
your presence
Coimplication demands that we all have work to do and all play a role in eradicating systems of oppression. Each of you has a role to play in the learning process, as such, your attendance is essential to the health of our classroom space and the actualization of our learning outcomes. Of course, life happens.
Attendance: I predict that there will be a time this semester when your bodymind needs a break. I predict that there will be a time when you have a conflict. Each student has *two* days where your absence is fully excused— no questions asked, no explanation needed. Beyond two days, let’s be in dialogue about your needs and your contributions to the classroom space.
Participation: How you show up in class is deeply texturized by your experiences and your positionality, as such, participation will necessarily look different for each student, depending on the conversation and topics. We will use weekly afterthoughts, pre-class questions and class discussion as fluctuating spaces for you to engage in the ways that challenge you, disrupt power structures, and ensure equity (not equality) in voice.
Complete pre-class questions each week (unless you will be absent).
Complete at least 5 “Afterthoughts” 1 page
Participate in class discussions
A note on engagement: Discussion engagement looks different for each of us. Some days, you will offer reflections, connections, questions or critiques. Other days, you will affirm and actively listen (mmms, uh-hus, snaps, etc.). Your contribution might be bringing good vibes, being prepared, keeping it real, asking hard questions, or actively listening. I’m open to all forms of participation that are authentically you and work towards our class goals. I aim to use your physical presence in the classroom next to our others forms of participation to gauge two primary goals: first, how you are making meaning of content (that’s important to me!), and second, how are you contributing to the class’s learning.
your accountability
I seek to honor the dreams of my ancestors and the interiority of the women in life each day I come to class. To what or to whom are you accountable? Barbara Love defines accountability as “how we understand and manage [the] opportunity and possibility for perspective sharing and allyship in liberation work...accountability means that we support each other to learn more...develop new agreements regarding our interactions with each other...accepting accountability to self and community for consequences of actions taken.
Self: In this class, grading will be a proxy for your accountability to your self and this collective. I assume that you are here to learn. As such, we will use grades as a form of feedback against your own goals. At the beginning of the semester, you will determine what parts of the syllabus are most important to you and your goals. You will also answer the question: “to what or to whom am I accountable in my learning?” We will meet together to discuss these goals, your progress towards those, and what that means for your final project. You will receive feedback from your peers on your participation and engagement in our class spaces. You will receive feedback from me on your written assignments. Similar to a grading/labor contract, if you meet the criteria you set at the beginning of the semester, then you will receive an A in this course.
Collective: Half-way through the semester, we will pause our learning to engage in a full class step-back on our participation and engagement. You will complete a self-reflection as well as peer reviews for the folks in your ongoing small group. You will also complete a targeted feedback form for me using the Critical Hope framework. Since this framework serves as the metaphor for the classroom environment I seek to nurture, your feedback will be through this specific lens. We will take at least 30 minutes during class to review the story that emerges from the class’s feedback and make decisions together that shape the final weeks of the semester.
Grading: I will grade your work using the following scale:
COMPLETE. Your work will get a “complete” on Canvas if it meets the following criteria: Your work meets all expectations laid out in the assignment page or what we discussed—I am always open to alternatives. This is your ticket to an A in this class! This means including a reflection letter when prompted. When part of a revision process, your work shows palpable, observable changes that include feedback from peers/myself and your own suggested edits.
INCOMPLETE. Your work will get an “incomplete” on Canvas if it does the following: Fails to include all components of the assignment as outlined at the beginning of the unit, such as a missing reflection letter. Does not meet the source expectation. Is not adequately edited (egregious or superfluous typos, grammatical errors that impede understanding, informality that is not deliberate, intentional, etc).
your wellbeing
Hope is on a tightrope in these trying times. We are in a pandemic, witnessing a major sociopolitical uprising, the after-effects of a decisive (yet contested) election, a recent insurrection/coup attempt, and ongoing political unrest around the country. I recognize that this moment in history is extraordinary, and we are all dealing with many challenges, fears, traumas and difficulties during this time.
In The Rose That Grew Concrete, Tupac Shakur writes, “You see you wouldn't ask why the rose that grew from the concrete had damaged petals. On the contrary, we would all celebrate its tenacity. We would all love it's will to reach the sun.”
I ask that you join me in celebrating each other’s tenacity and encourage each other to keep reaching towards the sun. This looks like practicing generosity, naming your needs, prioritizing ongoing self-care, and, borrowing from Don Miguel Ruiz, assume that everyone is doing their best.
Be proactive, and create the conditions you need physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and socially to show up. Bring the snacks, water bottles, stand instead of sit, etc. Practice tenderness with yourself, each other, and me. You never need to explain to me why you need help, but I expect you to practice the queer superpower of naming your needs— extensions, accommodations, breaks, a thought partner, a snack, campus resources.
Collage by Anna Almore
What shapes my pedagogy?
My pedagogy is shaped by Women of Color & Black Feminist Decolonial methodologies. Angela Davis, abolitionist feminist professor, explains that “[F]eminist methodologies impel us to explore connections that are not always apparent. And they drive us to inhabit contradictions and discover what is productive in these contradictions. Feminism insists on methods of thought and action that urge us to think about things together that appear to be separate, and to disaggregate things that appear to naturally belong together” (Davis 49:50). Anyone invested in interrogating, subverting, or destroying the false binaries created by gender can be a feminist— join me! A feminist methodology requires then that we interrogate binaries, dualisms, and pairings with imagination and critique, always tracing power, always seeking possibilities.
My positionality in the classroom is shaped by my embodied, historicized experience.
I am a lightskinned, Black biracial cis- queer women who plants her feet on stolen indigenous land each morning. I live with anxiety, allergies, and wonder, delight, and hope. I went to school during No Child Left Behind, taught middle school during Obama’s first presidency, coached educators during 45’s presidency, and graduate schooled during the COVID pandemic. I’m a Virgo sun, Scorpio moon. I’m born of and li(o)ved in borderlands and borderworlds from El Paso, TX, to the capitol of the confederacy, NYC and South Dakota’s reservations. These places and relationships I carry make me. All of this shapes my vision of learning, or aliveness.