Living at the Margins: Black Feminist Pedagogy as Transformative Praxis During the 1980s-1990s and Epistemic Exclusion in the 21st Century—Where Do We Go Now?

In this essay I argue that Black women who teach Black feminist pedagogy experience “epistemic exclusion” (Buchanan, 2020) while advocating for the intersections between three disparate contexts: their activism in their communities, the women’s movement, and their work as educators in postsecondary settings. The period examined is the 1980s–1990s. I consider the institutional challenges and limitations Black women have undergone as knowledge producers and teachers. While pushing the boundaries erected between university settings and the Black liberation movement taking place in their communities (Joseph, 2003), they were limited to a precarious status as Black women teaching within White-male dominated institutions. The trailblazing theoretical pedagogical insights Black feminists have advanced in their work as educators in postsecondary settings is discussed at length. Additionally, connections are made to the present-day struggle among Black feminists for inclusion within contemporary educational contexts (Evans-Winters & Piest, 2014; Mogadime, 2002, 2003; Wane, 2009, 2011).

A matter of race and gender: An examination of an undergraduate music program through the lens of feminist pedagogy and Black feminist pedagogy

Feminist pedagogy, originating in social constructivism and critical theory, offers an instructional approach for a more democratic and diverse curriculum and pedagogy. Extending from feminist pedagogy is Black feminist pedagogy, which offers a more specialized instructional approach for underrepresented populations in education. Both feminist pedagogy and Black feminist pedagogy foster a unique intersection for institutions of higher education whose historic mission integrates race and gender as part of its targeted efforts. This study examines ways feminist pedagogy and Black feminist pedagogy are integrated into the undergraduate music program at Spelman College, a historically Black college for women. Using Barbara Coeyman’s four principles of traditional feminist pedagogy for women’s studies in music and the general music curriculum (i.e., diversity, opportunities for all voices, shared responsibility, and orientation to action) as a theoretical framework, the following three components were examined for this study: content (curriculum and course design), context (structural influences of gender and race), and pedagogy (classroom instruction and learning outcomes). The analysis of data ascertained through triangulated measures of interviews, observations, and document collection provided suggestions as to how music educators can design and teach within a music environment that is socially and culturally inclusive for all students.