The Power and Freedom of Black Feminist and Womanist Pedagogy: Still Woke celebrates and reaffirms the power of Black feminist and womanist pedagogies and practices in university classrooms. Employing autocritography (through personal reflection, research, and critical analysis), the contributors to the volume boldly tell groundbreaking stories of their teaching experiences and their evolving relationships to Black feminist and womanist theory and criticism. From their own unique perspectives, each contributor views teaching as a life-changing collaborative and interactive endeavor with students. Moreover, each of them envisions their pedagogical practice as a strategic vehicle to transport the legacy of struggles for liberating, social justice and transformative change in the U.S. and globally. Firmly grounded in Black feminist and womanist theory and practice, this book honors the herstorical labor of Black women and women of color intellectual activists who have unapologetically held up the banner of freedom in academia.
Preface: Reaffirming the Power and Joy of Black Feminist and Womanist Thought, Gary L. Lemons and Cheryl R. Rodriguez Introduction: Embracing Transformation: Welcoming Wholeness and Truth into Our Classrooms, Cheryl R. Rodriguez and Gary L. Lemons Part I: “I Am”—Pedagogies of Resistance, Liberation, and Transformation Chapter One: The Radical Work of Teaching for Justice: Black Feminist Pedagogy for 21st Century Thought and Activism, Cheryl R. Rodriguez Chapter Two: Teaching as Liberatory Praxis: Learning to Shed Fear and Transcend Structures of Domination in the Classroom, Hanna Garth Chapter Three: Teaching Relationality: Pedagogies Across Asymmetries of Racialization and Colonization, Quynh Nhu Le Chapter Four: I am that, too: Integrating the Black Woman into the First Year Composition Classroom, Kendra N. Bryant Part II: Education “as the Practice of Freedom”: Holding on to bell hooks’ Pedagogical Legacy Chapter Five: Still Becoming Me: My Journey through bell hooks’ Vision of “Engaged Pedagogy”, La-Toya Scott Chapter Six: I Ain't No Damned Pedagogue: Reevaluating my Stance in the Classroom from a Black Feminist Perspective and Reclaiming my Mother Tongue, Maggie Romigh Chapter Seven: You Poured Your Soul into This Work: A Dialogue in the Spirit of Self-Transformation, Paul T. Corrigan Chapter Eight: Teaching to Progress: bell hooks, Radical Roots and Branches, Scott Neumeister Part III: Black Male Radical (His)Stories: Teaching to Survive Chapter Nine: Remembering Intersectional Interventions Teaching to Reclaim Human Rights Legacies, M. Thandabantu Iverson Chapter Ten: Working Overtime: My Mother and Black Feminists’ Embodied Narrative Inheritance, Marquese McFerguson Chapter Eleven: A Pedagogical Awakening: My Pro-Womanist His-Story, Vincent Adejumo Chapter Twelve: The Past and Future Diversities of HBCUs: Queerness and the Institutional Fulfillment of Black Studies, Roderick A. Ferguson Chapter Thirteen: Postscript: Professing Our Love for Social Justice “Committed to Survival and Wholeness of Entire People”, Gary L Lemons and Cheryl Rodriguez About the Contributors
Gary L. Lemons is professor of English at the University of South Florida. Cheryl R. Rodriguez is professor of Africana studies and anthropology at the University of South Florida.
Reviews for The Power and Freedom of Black Feminist and Womanist Pedagogy: Still Woke
"Still Woke--inspired by the pedagogical praxis and feminist/womanist theorizing of bell hooks--is a provocative, candid, inspirational, robust, exploration of what it means to craft transformative, transgressive classrooms. A diverse group of radical professors share, unapologetically, their own personal journeys and teaching strategies within a variety of academic contexts. This pioneering anthology bears witness to the unique struggles of committed feminist/womanist classroom warriors in their quest for survival, social justice and freedom. --Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Anna Julia Cooper Professor of Women's Studies at Spelman College The impressive range of scholar-teachers who comprise The Power and Freedom of Black Feminist and Womanist Pedagogy are serving black feminist and womanist activist pedagogy with grit, vulnerability, passion, and insight. To invoke Toni Morrison's eloquent words, The Power and Freedom of Black Feminist and Womanist Pedagogy is not a set of stories ""to pass on."" --David Ikard, Vanderbilt University"
