Educational intimacy

Learning, prefiguration, and relationships in an LGBTQ+ youth group’s advocacy efforts

Bibliographic Data

ID21633109
AuthorsSuraj Uttamchandani (0000-0002-9521-9384, Indiana University, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume30
Issue1
Pages52-75
Publication date2021-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of the Learning Sciences (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1050-8406 • E-ISSN: 1532-7809
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/10508406.2020.1821202
OpenAlexW3090283692
LanguageEN
Citations received16
References cited44

Background Using a conceptualization of learning as the act of organizing possible futures, I examine prefigurative relationship-building processes. Youth organizing research has shown that relational and political development are outcomes of participation, but offers limited examples of how these developments co-occur in discourse.Methods I research alongside Chroma, an LGBTQ+-themed community-based youth group whose members offer training to teachers and others about working with LGBTQ+ youth. Drawing on critical ethnography and discourse analysis, I engage the question: What was the character of the social relations Chroma youth organized together as they worked to advance their educational advocacy projects?Findings I develop a notion of educational intimacy, which describes relationships that allow for inclusive and productive engagement in advocacy and learning while also mirroring desired future social configurations. I ground my development of educational intimacy in audio data from Chroma meetings, workdays, and trainings.Contribution I situate educational intimacy in queer theoretic perspectives and existing learning sciences research. I conclude with some open questions about educational intimacy and learning in collective action projects. Educational intimacy offers a way of talking about how relational and political developments co-occur as learning processes in social movement spaces

Conceptualization · Mirroring · Pedagogy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Communication · Critical Race Theory in Education · LGBTQ Health, Identity, and Policy · Psychology · Qualitative Research Methods and Ethics · Social Psychology