Data for "(Self) Critical Pedagogy"

Background of data: The article for which this data is being submitted, “(Self) Critical Pedagogy: Performing Vulnerability to Teach STS in Singapore,” is an auto-ethnographic account of how the author, Monamie Bhadra Haines, grappled with teaching the more politically-sensitive strands (in the eyes of the Singapore state) of STS having to do with race, gender and technology.

Summary of source data: In this dataset, the author presents sites of classroom engagement in performing “radical vulnerability” as a pedagogical tool that both communicated personal reflections on lived experience of occupying multiple positionalities in Singapore, as well as exploratory research during the pandemic about surveillance and low-income migrants who bore the brunt of the infection. The data thus provided largely include syllabi and lectures that have built in spaces to include reflections on the gendered aspects of migration and technology, as well as personal stories of experiencing “whiplash” when the author was positioned as an Indian, or American, or employer.

Usefulness and interest: The data might be a valuable input for anyone instructors considering teaching in different international contexts that may not hold the same political values as American liberals, broadly construed. Some lines of inquiry for those using these syllabi might inquire into how vulnerability is (dis)allowed to be performed in particular institutional settings.

Data not shared: The author has not shared personal journal entries and conference programs that may give unwanted attention to some interlocutors.

Data context: This dataset of syllabi was created at Nanyang Technological University between August 2018-August 2021 while the author was a tenure track professor there. While the author was in Singapore, the Black Lives Matter and #MeToo movements were gaining momentum in the United States, and abroad. At that time, the author was trying to navigate how to respond to these critical issues from Singapore, where public dissent through congregations had a fraught history. Some of those American discussions landed on the shores of Singapore where many activists, academics and officials were debating the wisdom of “importing” Western categories, concepts and battles, and whether or not these imports shed light on local inequities. Finding the conversations somewhat frustrating from an American positionality, but at the same time wanting to respect local conversations and domestications of American politics, the author felt one of the best places to intervene was through teaching, and later, research, when the pandemic struck low-income migrant communities the hardest, The author quickly realized that there was actually quite a bit of autonomy in how to create syllabi and course materials, but also recognized that she did not want to impose Western sensibilities onto students. Thus, the syllabi are reflections on how the author navigated the personal and political in trying convey her own analytical views and matters of concern to students, while at the same time making sure there was openness for students to talk about their own concerns. This was easier said than done, as the hierarchy between students and professors is very obdurate, and while there are a lot of backchannels conversations students might have with one another, they don’t necessarily filter up to the frontstage classroom setting. Still, many conversations happened in consultation visits and through email, making the private and more personal spaces integral to this kind of uncomfortable, reflective work.