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Barefoot Feminist Classes: A Revelation of Being, Doing, and Becoming
Abstract
This narrative, which is based upon my twenty years of teaching at the University of Jordan, is derived not only from my experiences as a professor of literature and feminist theory but also from my on-going activism with respect to movements on women and on social justice that work toward cultural and social transformation. The testimonial poem I have crafted reflects the intellectual development and nourishment of my graduate and undergraduate students, a development which has been like an Arab Spring, or better still, an Arab Renaissance. Feminist classes create a breeding ground for Jordanian students to use their subjective I, to express their opinions, to engage in debate, and to assert their identities. Through their feminist education, these students emerge as active agents in their own learning and develop an authentic voice that bears witness to their lives and minds. Independent, a subject, they rip into feminist texts and speak in their own active voices with certainty, becoming midwife learners delivering their own ideas to the world and engaging in a conversation with other voices-past and present-in the culture. Through dialogue, they cross barriers and bridge private and shared experiences. They not only rise, but they also go beyond.
Discipline
Literature
Geographic Area
Jordan
Sub Area
Cultural Studies