Of flags: Online queer identities, writing classrooms, and action horizons

摘要

In this article I argue that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) and queer pedagogies have been too exclusively focused on identity. The problem with these identity-based pedagogies is that they cannot fully account for actual LGBT identities, due in part to a continued multiplication of these identities online. I use LGBT pride flags to illustrate the ways in which these identities have proliferated, presenting a theoretical limit for current understandings of queer and LGBT pedagogy. As an alternative, I introduce the notion of the action horizon, which forms a pedagogy that encourages students to imagine themselves as actors in the public sphere, shaping policies and confronting complex real-world problems. The various LGBT pride flags then serve as material in three examples— an online asynchronous discussion, writing in a computer classroom, and paper assignments—all of which prompt students to enact the action horizon. Despite the possibilities for real-world engagement offered by the action horizon, success with this pedagogy can be limited in terms of LGBT issues, and so I end with some consideration of the implications and limitations of this kind of teaching.