Considering the Role of Critical Pedagogy in Cultural Studies: A Research Introduction
Abstract
The university classroom is a space that can both reproduce and resist uneven power relationships. In this paper, I aim to explore the possibilities of how engaged, critical teaching practices can be used by Cultural Studies faculty members to counter dominant and oppressive forces in academic institutions. Cultural Studies is an interdisciplinary field that relies on “radical contextualism” to critique, analyze, and understand the complexities of power (Grossberg, 1994, p. 5). Even though hierarchical and oppressive practices rooted in capitalism, patriarchy, colonialism, and racism manifest themselves in higher education, engaged and critical pedagogy has the potential to disrupt these norms (Bunjun, 2021). Specifically, engaged, critical pedagogy can be considered as a holistic approach to teaching that encourages learning through practices such as dialogue, critical questioning, and re-learning (hooks, 1994).
These holistic models of teaching can disrupt traditional hierarchies and problematize how only certain (i.e., male and white) voices are privileged in academic institutions (Freire, 2018; hooks, 1994). Even though substantial theory has been developed within Cultural Studies, multiple large research gaps currently exist in the field’s examination of its teaching practices; these gaps about pedagogy and impact in the research must be addressed and studied further. Therefore, my goal is to explore how the university classroom functions as a space for resisting dominant ideologies and institutionally privileged voices within Cultural Studies education in Canada. I am currently writing my master’s thesis on this topic after completing my data collection in the summer of 2023. In my study, the research questions I asked were: How do university faculty members use engaged, critical pedagogical practices to disrupt institutional hierarchies in Cultural Studies? What impacts do these approaches have on students who self- identify as Indigenous, Black, or a person of colour?
