Chapter 8: Forging Alliances, Becoming-Ally: In Pursuit of Pedagogical Virtualities

In this critically reflective essay I draw on critical posthuman concepts as I narrate an experience teaching a class on identity and social justice in a summer leadership program. After locating myself historically and politically, and introducing posthumanism, I then share about my learning-with the students: in coming into composition with them and their experiences, I realized that they were interested in learning about LGBTQ issues, which I had not included in my syllabus. This encounter forced me to confront my own heteronormative gaze and the way it informed my syllabus and my expectations of the students. I modified the course and, in forging an alliance with them around issues that were central to who they were becoming, produced new modes of subjectivity—a becoming-ally. This experience also opened up new understandings of “a pedagogy of virtualities,” a pedagogy that allows for the actualization of students’ and teachers’ potentialities through joint activity.