Critical Affective Literacy, Feminist Pedagogies, and Democracy

Abstract

In the high school English classroom, critical literacy strategies can be the pedagogical catalyst for emotionally charged moments in which reactionary politics and progressive theories collide. Teachers can use feminist pedagogies and critical literacies to critique, destabilise, and challenge the privilege of dominant groups in society. Such approaches can create space for students to deliberate political issues, engage with a range of viewpoints, and develop arguments. However, affective intensities can erupt and disrupt, with some students feeling confronted by a disconnect between their own experiences and the models of identity available through dominant discourses (Hemmings, 2012). Rather than shying away from affective intensities, this chapter argues that combining affect with feminist pedagogies and critical literacies can be a powerful pedagogical force. Drawing on Anwaruddin's (2016) four-principle approach to critical affective literacy, this conceptual chapter explores how teachers can use critical affective literacy for democratic aims in the high school English classroom. It argues that the high school English classroom has a crucial role to play in the functioning of a healthy and democratic society, and that teachers should be prepared to view teaching for democracy as a “long game.”