Dualism, socially just pedagogies and shame in South African higher education

Addressing dualisms in higher educa0on – an example of a socially just pedagogy

Viv Bozalek [email protected]

University of the Western Cape Ronelle Carolissen rlc2@[email protected]

Stellenbosch University

Structure of presenta0on

•  Introduc0on to this presenta0on •  Defini0on and characteris0cs of dualism •  Concerns regarding dualisms in higher educa0on

•  Challenging dualism through The Community, Self and Iden0ty project

•  The poli0cs of shame in addressing dualism

Introduc0on •  We are trying to engage with posthumanism from the point of view of dualisms which most

texts on cri0cal posthumanism cite as being one of its main conten0ons. Prior to this we have regarded socially just pedagogies as those which promote par0cipatory parity, which The objec0ves of this presenta0on are to discuss how the no0on of dualism may be relevant when thinking about issues of a socially just pedagogy . We contend that the characteris0cs of dualism as outlined by the feminist philosopher Val Plumwood (1993; 2002) may be helpful in aUemp0ng to challenge or address dualisms and issues of social jus0ce, privilege and disadvantage in higher educa0on. The presenta0on describes the project on which we will base our data analysis in the face to face session in November. So it is a good way of introducing the project and star0ng to engage with it from another lens – that of cri0cal posthumanism and the affec0ve turn. The project was set up across historically advantaged and historically disadvantaged higher educa0on ins0tu0ons (HEIs) in Cape Town – UWC and Stellenbosch University, and across differently valued professions (psychology, social work and occupa0onal therapy) in order to address the historical and current inequi0es and differences between these disciplines and ins0tu0ons. In addi0on, aUen0on to differences in social class, race, gender and sexuality were foregrounded in this project. The presenta0on looks at Plumwood’s no0on of dualism and relates it to a course shows how the dualisms can poten0ally be addressed by bringing students together to engage with each other about issues of privilege and disadvantage. The paper also notes how shame was a prominent response when students interacted across difference, par0cularly in rela0on to the realiza0on that they had benefiUed from material advantages and privileges in the past and the present, but also when those who had been disadvantaged were confronted with their privileged peers.

Defini0on of Dualism 'In dualis0c construc0on, as in hierarchy, the quali0es (actual or supposed), the culture, the values and the areas of life associated with the dualised other are systema0cally and pervasively constructed and depicted as inferior’ (Plumwood, 1993:47) (our emphases) Dualism is different from a dichotomy or dis0nc0on in that it is an hierarchical rela0onship in which equality is not possible.

Dualism

•  Central to the construc0on of dualism is the idea of two polar opposites, where one pole is always less than or inferior to the other and the other the desirable norm with no possibility of con0nuity between these two sides (Bacchi, 2007; Plumwood, 1993)

Central to dualism is

•  Inferiorisa0on •  Interiorisa0on •  Othering

Inferiorisa0on

•  Inferiorisa0on is central to Val Plumwood’s defini0on of dualism, in which the marginalised group are constructed as mentally, physically or emo0onally inferior to the accepted norm, and found to be ‘wan0ng’ or ‘less than’ this norm in various ways.

Interiorisa0on

•  Interiorisa0on happens when those who are subjugated accept, uncri0cally embrace and collude with the way that they have been nega0vely construed by those in privileged posi0ons/dominant culture,

•  The idea is to find ways of resis0ng these construc0ons

Othering is also central to dualism

By ‘othering’, we mean the way in which the marginalised are illegi0mated by being regarded as ‘them’ (objects) rather than ‘us’ (subjects), in other words, regarded as unimportant, different, marginal, strange or alien and having nega0ve quali0es aUributed to them (de Beauvoir 1997; Hartsock 1998; Plumwood 1993).

Plumwood’s five characteris0cs of dualism

1. Backgrounding (denial) – making use of the other, using the other to service the masters’needs but denying the dependence on the other – what Joan Tronto (1993) calls ‘privileged irresponsibility’

2. Radical exclusion (hypersepara;on) – here difference is maximised and shared quali0es minimised to achieve the maximum separa0on from the other

Plumwood’s (1993) five characteris0cs of dualisms

3.  Incorpora;on (rela;onal defini;on) – the inferior side of the duality is defined as a lack or nega0on and the superior side as the reference point, whose quali0es are the primary and important ones

4.  Instrumentalism (objec;fica;on) – those on the lower side must put aside their own interests to become a means to an end for the master and is thus objec0fied

Characteris0cs of dualism

5. Homogenisa;on (stereotyping) -‐ here differences of the inferiorised group are disregarded – they are all seen as the same (e.g. all migrants differences denied just seen as alien)

Addressing dualisms •  Backgrounding – recognise contribu0ons of mee0ng needs and acknowledge dependency

•  Radical exclusion – reclaim denied area of overlap, provide opportuni0es for contact

•  Incorpora;on – review iden00es from both sides, affirming and reclaiming subordinate resistance and recons0tu0ng iden00es

•  Instrumentalism – see the other as an end in him/herself, as having needs in their own right

•  Homogenisa;on – seeing the diversity and uniqueness of those who have been otherised

As a group of higher educators, we were concerned about the history of minimal inter-‐professional and inter-‐ins0tu0onal contact between

students from psychology, social work and occupa0onal therapy (human service professions), par0cularly across historically advantaged and

disadvantaged ins0tu0ons in South Africa

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Our project and why we started it

•  To challenge dualisms •  between differently placed HEIs – Stellenbosch University and the University of the Western Cape

•  between differently placed professions – psychology/social work and later also occupa0onal therapy

•  between social iden00es – race, class, gender, na0onality and sexuality

Inferiorisa0on and HEIs

How our project addressed dualisms

•  Plumwood (1993) notes that to overcome the dualis0c dynamic one needs both con;nuity and difference

•  We thought about how best to provide opportuni0es for students to encounter each other intersubjec0vely illumina0ng their histories. reali0es and their needs to aUempt mutual recogni0on – experiencing each other as both similar and different

•  We used various mechanisms to do this – par0cipatory learning and ac0on (PLA) techniques, online discussions, performances, cri0cal literature, group presenta0ons, reflec0ve essays

The Community, Self and Iden0ty Course

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Community mapping as a PLA technique

Step 1 Draw a picture/map of your home and neighbourhood

including the resources that are there. Step 2 Identify and label three things that you would like to

change in relation to your experiences (could be physical or relate to attitudes, social issues). Put these in order by choosing to give the one you feel is most important the most tokens.

Step 3 Share in your group, explaining your picture/map and

the reasons for wanting things to change. 19

Community mapping as a PLA technique

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“I have learnt about more about another culture and community. In South Africa, as we grow to learn about ourselves and others, we are constantly reminded of the

diversity that is unique to our country- the eleven languages; the turbulent histories; and the many races to name but a few. Our diversity is a fact. However, it is not

often that we are literally thrown together with people from diverse backgrounds to actually have first-hand experience of diversity” (‘Samantha’)

Presentation at Utrecht University June 2009

HERDSA Conference July 2008 New Zealand

Remix Theatre Company

TELL ME YOUR RACE THEN I WILL

GIVE YOU YOUR IDENTITY

Cri0cal Texts

Anthias & Yuval-‐Davis Lugones Dominelli

2014/10/11

Students’ representa0ons of shame

•  I felt quite defensive, as he talked about the “haves” vs the “have-‐nots”. And of course I see myself as belonging to the former, very much at the expense of the laUer. The presenta0on evoked my white guilt specifically (Stellenbosch University (SU) white female psychology student)


•  I felt guilty whenever I had to use words of racial inference, like white, black, coloured, ect. When I used the word white, I felt like some group members would think “Ah, but the whi0es love to talk about themselves” or something close to that. When I used black/coloured , I felt that the others would then think “ah, so here we go with separa0ng, derogatory remarks again based on race”. I felt that some group members would take offense. To my surprise, when I voiced this issue to the group, a number of them felt the same way in that they are scared to use these words (SU,white female psychology student)


•  As I reflect today and as I did at the workshop, I found this to be a par0cularly difficult task, as I realised that I had intense feelings of shame and guilt about my more privileged background and current situa0on. When I was drawing my community map I consciously asked myself, Should I include all the resources, I find at my leisure, as I felt a sense of guilt (White SU Psychology female student)


•  Very basically, aker looking at my drawings again aker a week, there is only one element that stood out and that is: privilege. I live in a privileged community with enough resources (private hospitals and neighbourhood watches) for the ‘class’ it caters for. Strangely enough, this is not how I always saw my life. I was guilt ridden aker making my preUy coloured drawings and glancing over to the other side of the spectrum -‐ poor communi0es, bad infrastructure, badly resourced hospitals and police sta0ons. (White SU Psychology female student)

Students’ representa0ons of shame •  Firstly with Masidiso’s drawing of her neighbourhood, I was quite

surprised and saddened that her neighbourhood was quite under resourced. It wasn’t the worst that I had oken seen on the news or driving past these areas, but this was different in that it was an actual experience. I listened to her tell of how far hospitals and schools were and the only way of genng there was by using the taxi service down the road. I felt lucky to be in the posi0on that I am because every resource we need access to on a daily have is much closer. I felt shocked at the state of affairs, but I felt guilty because my problems with my area seemed more trivial and something that one could adapt to much easier than lack of necessary resources. Upon listening to her tell the story of the life in the ‘ River of Life ’ exercise I was quite surprised as to how much life she had lived and how she seemed so op0mis0c about it. Here I felt almost silly for being more pessimis0c about where I came from and what I had done. Listening to Masidiso made me posi0vely re-‐evaluate the way I feel about my own life and where I am going with my degree. (White SU Psychology female student)


•  recrea0onal facili0es were virtually non-‐existent, there is a dire lack of adequate housing, unemployment is ubiquitous, and public services and facili0es …..basic needs, in fact civic rights; like access to clean running water and adequate sanitary facili0es, overcrowding, and of course violence; gang violence in par0cular is rife. I discovered that conserva0ve gendered stereotypes, xenophobia, and racism were (shamefully) quite characteris0c of members (however, not all members) of my community, where ‘other people’ are simply seen as encroaching on ‘our’ territory. I must admit that I felt hesitant to expand on my illustra0ons to my group, mainly because I did not know them, and also due to my fearing that I might offend them with poten0ally unfounded ‘subjec0ve facts’ (coloured male social work UWC student)


•  The workshop was quite interes0ng; it amazed me at how similar the communi0es were that my fellow group members lived in. Violence, poverty and overcrowding were visible in all the communi0es that were presented. My community was a bit embarrassing as there were a lot of issues that I was embarrassed about and that I did not want anybody to know of. Issues such as been known to have a shebeen in every second road and that contributed to the high rates of violence, rape and child drug trafficking. (coloured female social work UWC student)

The poli0cs of shame in higher educa0on

•  Zembylas (2008) recognises the beneficial poten0al of the poli0cal and ethical value shame, esp. in educa0onal contexts.

•  Shame is construc0ve because it acts as a catalyst for self-‐reflec0on and creates opportuni0es for solidarity between shamed and shaming groups

•  Poli0cs of shame does not imply an essen0alist concep0on of shame

•  Calhoun (2004) and Locke (2007) also recognise shame as poten0ally produc0ve under certain circumstances

•  Locke (2007) refers to the ‘conscious pariah’ (a no0on coined by Hannah Arendt), who realises the poli0cal dimensions of discrimina0on rather than seeing it as a consequence of her own behaviour (like Zembylas)

Guilt and shame

•  Guilt is oken a first response when learning about systemic advantages and compliance with system of advantage for some at the expense of others

•  Shame may then follow guilt (Locke, 2007; Munt, 2007)

The poli0cs of shame in addressing dualisms

•  As with other emo0ons, shame may be considered as unavoidably part of the micropoli0cs of everyday life which incorporate power rela0ons. Thus we agree with Zembylas (2007:xiii) that ‘the poli;ciza;on of emo0ons in educa0on is not only inevitable but also desirable’. Shame has the poten0al to silence, isolate and exclude (Bartky, 1996; Locke, 2007; McConaghy, 2000). However, the poli0cs of shame refers to both the acknowledgement of collec0ve responsibility through connec0ons (Young, 2011), and provides the poten0al for the undoing of ‘privileged irresponsibility’ through acknowledging historical and poli0cal circumstances.

Ques0ons regarding shame and dualism

•  So is shame sufficient to overcome mechanisms of dualism such as backgrounding, privileged irresponsibility, radical exclusion and homogenisa0on both in terms of privilege and marginalisa0on, or is something more needed?

•  Locke (2007:156) engages with these concerns in her elabora0on of the sort of world that should be built for the shame-‐ridden and shame-‐prone and asks a cri0cal ques0on: Will more of a self-‐cri0cal stance in itself lead to living more justly?

Conclusion

•  Our conten0on is that shame needs to be a poli0cal prac0ce in order to be produc0ve and in higher educa0on we need to find ways of ‘crea0ng …spaces where alterna0ve images of life can emerge’ Locke (2007:159)

•  'cri0cal reconstruc0on of iden0ty normally involves not only affirming and rebuilding subordinated iden00es, but also reconstruc0ng master iden00es' (Plumwood, 1993, 67)

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Publishing. •  Zembylas, M. (2007). Five pedagogies, a thousand possibili;es. RoUerdam: Sense Publishers. •  Zembylas, M. (2008). The poli0cs of shame in intercultural educa0on, Educa;on, Ci;zenship and

Social Jus;ce, 3(3): 263–280. •  Zembylas, M. (2011). The Poli;cs of Trauma in Educa;on. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Any ques0ons?

•  For further communica0on contact •  Viv Bozalek [email protected] •  Ronelle Carolissen [email protected]

Education

Dualism, socially just pedagogies and shame in South African higher education