Is it enough to simply reproduce images of sexism and racism, violence and gore, in order to teach it? When the bodies in pain, the bodies in ecstasy, the bodies under a malicious form of scrutiny always belong to black and brown subjects, to the colonized, to women and to “others” - what does it do, what does it really teach, and who does it mean to teach?

Instead of focusing on minority difference and identities of “otherness” in the classroom, what might we learn if we consider the ways in which whiteness is centered, and resists decentering, in our curricula, in our syllabi, and in our classrooms?

What values are encoded in a vision of student participation that emphasizes the performance of competence for the professor and peers? Does that truly constitute an act of participation or is it instead a display of privilege and power? 

At what point is the passion that drives us into our respective fields supposed to dull into decidedly more tepid “research and teaching interests”? What gets lost in that transition and is it worth recovering?

In this inaugural post, I begin with personal reflections on my academic and professional journey to, through, and beyond Princeton University….