Nelson M. Rodriguez – författare

This book advances a broad constellation of critical concepts situated within the field of queer studies and education. Collectively, the concepts take up a cross-section of scholarship that speaks to various political, epistemological, theoretical, methodological, and pedagogical concerns. Given the ongoing global centrality of sociocultural and political developments related to the topic of LGBTQ in the twenty-first century, the concepts in this volume and the issues raised by each contributor will have wide international appeal among researchers, scholars, educators, students, and activists working at the intersection of queer studies and education.

This book examines, within the context and concerns of education, Foucault’s reflections on friendship in his 1981 interview “Friendship as a Way of Life.” In the interview, Foucault advances the notion of a homosexual ascesis based on experimental friendships, proposing that homosexuality can provide the conditions for inventing new relational forms that can engender a homosexual culture and ethics, “a way of life,” not resembling institutionalized codes for relating. The contributors to this volume draw from Foucault’s reflections on ascesis and friendship in order to consider a range of topics and issues related to critical studies of sexualities and genders in education. Collectively, the chapters open a dialogue for researchers, scholars, and educators interested in exploring the importance and relevance of Foucault’s reflections on friendship for studies of schooling and education.

This edited volume utilizes critical perspectives other than/or in addition to LGBTQ+ studies to facilitate knowledge-building on pedagogical and curricular approaches to LGBTQ+ studies within the context and concerns of promoting LGBTQ+ inclusivity across various educational spaces. Chapters include: intersectional analysis, pedagogies of discomfort, critical theory/critical peace education, critical literacy studies, social class theory, public pedagogy studies, critical theory/critical pedagogy, Indigenous/decolonizing studies, critical posthumanist theory, personal narratives as pedagogy, and critical heterosexuality studies, among other perspectives. Through this collection, the editors and their authors demonstrate that other perspectives (in addition to LGBTQ+ studies) can be equally helpful to teaching practices and curricula that advance LGBTQ+ inclusivity and knowledge production.