Browsing by Author "Acher, Helena"

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    A Queer Eye on the Straight Classroom – Norm-critical pedagogy on the basis of Cunningham’s The Hours.
    (2012) Esbold, Lina; Acher, Helena; Göteborgs Universitet/Institutionen för sociologi och arbetsvetenskap
    Sammanfattning: The aim of this study is to illustrate and problematise how the heteronorm is Othering queer people and how norm-critical pedagogy, in this case based on literary analysis of Cunningham’s novel The Hours, can be used to counter-act homophobic tendencies in school. The study is conducted from a queer-theoretical perspective, largely through discourse analysis. The study focuses on heteronormativity, gender performativity, tolerance pedagogy, identity and providing alternate life-narratives to the heteronorm, all based on our analysis of The Hours. The study then provides a set of suggested didactic tools for working with norm-critical pedagogy in the subject of English as a secondary language. Norm-critical pedagogy, it is suggested, is a crucial tool in order to meet the demands of the fundamental values of the Swedish curriculum, which states that no one should be subjected to discrimination due to their sexual orientation or otherwise, and that the task of the school is to encourage all pupils to discover their own uniqueness as individuals. 1
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    Consider the Alternatives: Teaching liberal feminism through Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale"
    (2011-06-14) Acher, Helena; University of Gothenburg/Department of Languages and Literatures; Göteborgs universitet/Institutionen för språk och litteraturer
    This essay focuses on the implementation of fundamental values mentioned in the Swedish curricula in the English language classroom with the help of literature. More specifically, the essay focuses on the ideas of everyone’s equal value and right to the same opportunities, considered here to be a liberal feminist value, and how this may be discussed with the help of Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, an arguably liberal feminist novel. The novel’s focus on oppression in many forms – based on gender, economic class and profession, for instance – makes it a suitable tool in helping students understand and expose oppressing structures both within the novel and in society. The aim of this essay is to provide concrete examples of these structures within The Handmaid’s Tale, and to argue the case for such themes to be discussed in the Swedish school system.