Tonya D. Callaghan’s research while affiliated with University of Calgary and other places

Arts-based research marks a unique nexus of curricula and its social context. Through the application of semiotics and a focus on anti-oppressive pedagogy, this paper articulates the function of art curricula in empowering student voice to approach and begin to dismantle the oppression of minoritized peoples. We have initiated a political, participatory application of Erasure Poetry that emphasizes the relationship of participants to their broader political environment. The presence of students throughout every dimension of the classroom experience makes the facilitation of their voices a key tool for consciousness-raising and the promotion of equitable, pluralistic, and democratic pedagogies. We posit that making political poetry is an important vehicle for personal reflection, critical thinking, self-expression, and demonstrating knowledge through action that is particularly effective for engaging minority learners, such as those who identify as gender and sexually diverse, in conservative times. Keywords: Erasure poetry, semiotics, student voice, gender & sexually diverse learners

Arts-based research marks a unique nexus of curricula and its social context. Through the application of semiotics and a focus on anti-oppressive pedagogy, this paper articulates the function of art curricula in empowering student voice to approach and begin to dismantle the oppression of minoritized peoples. We have initiated a political, participatory application of Erasure Poetry that emphasizes the relationship of participants to their broader political environment. The presence of students throughout every dimension of the classroom experience makes the facilitation of their voices a key tool for consciousness-raising and the promotion of equitable, pluralistic, and democratic pedagogies. We posit that making political poetry is an important vehicle for personal reflection, critical thinking, self-expression, and demonstrating knowledge through action that is particularly effective for engaging minority learners, such as those who identify as gender and sexually diverse, in conservative times. Keywords: Erasure poetry, semiotics, student voice, gender & sexually diverse learners

Background: Mainstream media is increasingly reporting on the relationships between Catholic and trans identities in parochial schools, particularly with regard to gendered washroom use. With greater numbers of trans youth coming out at younger ages, significant educational policy changes are being considered around how Catholic schools can or should include trans youth. Method: This study applies trans and queer theologies to Critical Discourse Analysis (CDA) in investigating the Wilson case, which was the first known instance of a Catholic school including some affirming policy provisions for trans youth. The authors additionally collected and coded 12 news articles from a variety of platforms to discern and discuss the theological arguments in the public square against more fulsome trans student inclusion in Catholic schools. Results: The authors found two related theological arguments against full inclusion, namely the notion that (1) Gender is God-given and therefore cannot be chosen or changed, and (2) That transgressive bodies are not sacred parts of the divine gender plan. Conclusion: Trans theology allowed the authors to disrupt both of the theological claims advanced by the Catholic educators quoted in the Wilson case. This created rich, imaginative space in which to reconsider the relationships between Catholic and trans identities, namely by not arranging them in a binary. Significance for policy-making in parochial schools is discussed.

A climate of structural violence, built on heteronormativity, heterosexism and sexual stigma shapes the lives of gender and sexually diverse (GSD) persons. This reality creates the social conditions within which interpersonal and intimate partner relationships are established, and within which domestic violence can occur. This article argues that a climate of structural violence against GSD persons creates specific risk factors for domestic violence victimization and unique barriers to receiving safe, appropriate and accessible services and supports act as obstacles to healthy intimate relationships. We purport that GSD persons experience additional risk factors such as heteronormativity, heterosexism, sexual stigma; traditional gender and sexuality norms; early stigma and homophobic harassment; social exclusion and isolation; and lack of appropriate domestic violence prevention services and supports which enhance the risk for domestic violence within GSD intimate relationships and limits the potential of prevention efforts. They emphasize that domestic violence will not be eradicated using a solely heteronormative interventionist approach and that the inclusion of a primary prevention approach that takes account of these additional risk factors is necessary to stop the violence before it starts.

This chapter explores “religiosity” as a critical concept for advancing the dialogue about queer studies and education for the twenty-first century. Religiosity, or an inappropriate devotion to the rituals and traditions of a religion, is particularly problematic for sexual and gender minorities in publicly funded faith-based schools where homophobic and transphobic doctrines of the faith are more commonly enforced than other doctrines. The plight of sexual and gender minority groups in Canadian faith-based schools is a neglected research topic due to Canadians’ deep respect for the fundamental freedom of religion and a corresponding prevailing belief that religiously inspired discriminatory practices occurring in publicly funded schools are a normal part of religious freedom that should continue to go unchallenged. The author calls upon anti-oppression education researchers to overcome their reluctance to include religious schools in their research.

Drawing from the author's 5-year, multimethod qualitative study, this article argues that lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer students in Canadian Catholic schools are not inherently mentally ill, passive victims in need of special Catholic pastoral care; instead, they are activists who strongly resist homophobic oppression in school. This article concentrates on three youth activists, whose stories are analyzed through narrative inquiry and are contextualized in the larger study's methodology. The article concludes that antihomophobia education efforts should not overlook potential student leaders in Catholic schools.