EW-MA 1: Sexuality, gender and diversity in children's worlds

Education in both formal and informal contexts constitutes an important aspect of many children’s lives. However, it is important to keep in mind that not all learning is positive. Schools and other institutions are shaped by broader social forces (including social media, politics, entertainment industries) that influence public opinion and social relationships. Underlying concepts about sex/gender and sexuality are initially formed in childhood. In this seminar, we will analyze how these concepts are formed in general, but especially for children. As educators who work in schools as well as other less formal educational contexts, we must be able to imagine and create learning contexts where all children may flourish. This means first recognizing the ways in which inequalities and exclusion are produced by socially constructed understandings of sex-gender-sexuality, and then developing pedagogical strategies that resist, rupture and unsettle potentially dangerous misconceptions and prejudices