Communicating Gender, Creative Reflections
Over the several semesters I have taught Communicating Gender (CMST 235) at Vanderbilt University, by the far the most effective and affective experience is the Gender Performance. On this day, the students and I alter our presentations of gender in ways big or small. In-class discussion, which never fails to be animated and emotive, gives shape to a short paper in which students reflect on the experience. The purpose of this assignment is to engage materially and experientially Judith Butler’s argument that gender is not something you have but something you do, not an identity but a performance.
While I always cherished this moment in the class, I also lamented its singularity. This assignment was the only one of its kind I had on the syllabus. When I learned about the Curb Creative Campus Innovation Grant, I knew I had a chance to expand this opportunity, taking students off campus to see gender being performed in a wide variety of sites. The events I scheduled for students included a Nashville Rollergirls roller derby bout, a midnight screening of _Rocky Horror Picture Show_, and a bridal fair. I was also exceptionally lucky that the Vanderbilt campus and Nashville community boasted a multitude of other events that dovetailed perfectly with the ones I had chosen, including a lecture by queer theorist Judith “Jack” Halberstam, the anti-sexual violence “Slut Walk” at Centennial Park, Vanderbilt’s annual Lambda drag show, and a screening of a documentary about trans-identity. Students are allowed to choose among these various events (and others that they discover on their own) as inspirations for a creative project they will submit at the end of the semester. So far, I have been thrilled with the level of discourse and engagement students have demonstrated.
The first, and perhaps least expected, outcome of these gender “excursions” has been the formation of relationships among my students. I teach this course in a classroom with stadium seating and unmovable chairs. While this arrangement works well for lectures, it does not foster open, easy discussion. This obstacle is something I have to address in every class that I teach in this room. After the first gender excursion, however, I began to notice students turning more in their seats to talk to one another, calling each other by name, and referencing their shared experiences outside of our class meeting time. It seems that the relatively simple gesture of transplanting students to new (and potentially “strange”) environments inspired them to come together. The comfort level they have developed has yielded not only increased collegiality and presumably new friendships but has also made the students more willing (or, perhaps comfortable) to engage each other critically, but respectfully.
I have never seen Vanderbilt students so willing to challenge one another, to confront course readings, and to speak with such agency. As good as things have been so far, I cannot wait to see what their creative projects will bring!
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Claire Sisco King, PhD Assistant Professor Department of Communication Studies Film Studies Program Vanderbilt University