[iDC] about gendered epistemologies and gendered pedagogies in the south

[Tania Pérez Bustos]

Dear all

 

As Caroline mentioned I am a feminist scholar from the
south, I would not say only from South America (as she mentioned), but from the
south in general, let's say from the global south. I know some of you are also
from the south, and others have worked in the south, as an example are the
experiences that some of you have shared regarding educational projects in
India and Peru. 

 

In this discussion I would like us to reflect upon the
particularities of the realities and projects we study and promote and the
location in which they are. When I say location I mean not only a spatial
location, but as well a location that is embedded and embodied in historical
subjects. That implies that experiences, realities, conditions regarding
knowledge production, and knowledge circulation, which is not but another form
of producing knowledge, as educational practices do, are situated in bodies
marked by localities but also by localities marked by particular
geopolitics. 

 

As Caroline mentioned I am studying this in relation
to OLPC (between other things), and I have found, just to give an example that might
question some of you working with this "global" project, and hoping
it motivates the more general discussion, that in Colombia, OLPC started very
much linked to the showbiz industry. Especially using the image of Shakira (the
singer) as an advertisement platform to enter the country. This implied not
only that the project started as a private initiative in some specific poor
local schools funded by Shakira's foundation, but also that the local free
software community, in charge of the project before Shakira and Negroponte met
at an UNESCO conference, was only articulated to the implementation as solvers
of technical problems, but with no saying regarding the pedagogical implementation
of the XOs.

 

Many are the edges that this case has, to understand
its conditions of possibility from a feminist situated perspective, however I
would like to point at one in this occasion. In particular to the instrumental
role that is given to the local communities in pedagogical projects that have a
"global" nature. What does it mean in pedagogical and epistemological
terms (retaking here the discussion started by John Sobol in June 28th) that
the knowledge embedded in a learning machine might not be enhanced,
problematized, changed by local communities of experts? Who are the situated subjects
that promote this kind of de/localized implementation? How are they marked by
gendered subjectivities? How those marks also mark in gender terms the learning
experience itself both global and locally? 

 

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts about these
questions, especially regarding your experiences 

 

Tania

 

P.s. A bit late, but I offer my excuses for any
language mistake that I might have, as you may guess English is my second
language.  
Tania Pérez-Bustos PhD
Profesora Departamento de Antropología
Facultad de Ciencias Sociales
Pontificia Universidad Javeriana

Investigadora Feminista Independiente
Escuela de Estudios de GéneroUniversidad Nacional de Colombia
http://taniaperezbustos.jimdo.com/
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