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Contribution to Book
Feminist Pedagogy: Diversity and Praxis in a University Context
Feminisms in Geography: Rethinking Space, Place, and Knowledges (2007)
  • Ann M. Oberhauser, West Virginia University
Abstract
As dynamic today as it was in its first decade, feminist geography continues to undergo significant change. Shifts in institutions of higher education have been fueled by a set of economically driven principles that corresponds to a corporate model of rewards and market-based learning outcomes (Dastree & Sparke, 2000). Feminist geographies challenge these developments in academia through analyses of, for example, hierarchical divisions of labor in the context of changing sociocultural and political-economic structures. This is part and parcel of an effort to transform patriarchal structures in, and the corporatization of, higher education (McDowell, 1990). As we know, feminist course content is not enough. We need to approach the classroom as feminists and foster learning communities that move students away from complacency with corporate interests toward critical thinking about the environments they work in and the people they work with (see Webber, 2006; cf. Heyman, 2001). Indeed, students' experiences with multicultural education and diversity have enhanced their awareness and understanding of difference and identity, and promoted in the inclusion of these issues in geographic curriculum in higher education (Lay et al., 2002; Monk, 2000). IN part, these understandings and experiences stem from a greater emphasis on praxis in scholarship and teaching (Fuller and Kitchin, 2004; Moss et al., 1999). Increasingly, geography university teachers encourage students to apply their knowledge beyond the classroom through course material, such as participation in community-based and service-oriented projects (see Gilbert & Masucci, 2004; Jaroxz, 2004; Oberhauser, 2002; Roberts, 2000).
Publication Date
2007
Editor
P. Moss and K. Falconer Al-Hindi
Publisher
Rowman & Littlefield
Publisher Statement
2007. Rowman & Littlefield. Posted with permission.
Citation Information
Ann M. Oberhauser. "Feminist Pedagogy: Diversity and Praxis in a University Context" New YorkFeminisms in Geography: Rethinking Space, Place, and Knowledges Vol. Chapter 17 (2007) p. 215 - 220
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/ann-oberhauser/15/