Loneliness through the lens of Black feminist love-politics: pedagogical practices amid pandemic online learning

Abstract

Purpose Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, including contact restrictions and the switch to virtual classes, loneliness has become a pressing concern for college students and their learning. This study aims to interrogate current discussions about college student loneliness through the lens of Black feminist love-politics to reimagine online pedagogical practices. Design/methodology/approach Using a broad literature base and anecdotes from personal teaching experiences, the authors contend that Black Feminist perspectives on love, care and solidarity can illuminate the sociopolitical dimensions of loneliness in pedagogically productive ways. Findings The authors explore various pedagogical practices that are inspired by Black feminist approaches that aim to promote solidarity, love and care in either virtual or in-person classrooms. These pedagogical suggestions result from the authors’ teaching experiences amid online learning and current literature in education. Practical implications The authors seek to support educators’ understanding of the most pervasive yet misunderstood emotional experiences of student learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This paper explores strategies for addressing feelings of loneliness within online learning-related contexts in higher education. This discussion will be particularly relevant for educators and students from historically marginalized populations. Originality/value This work focuses on the plight of community college students, a demographic that has not garnered enough attention in the educational research concerning this pandemic. In addition, this paper offers an account of loneliness that aligns with the political and ideological crisis of today and places it in conversation with Black feminist thought.

The Virtual Geography of Afrodiasporic Womanist Love: Black Women Critical Educators Collectively Cultivating Solidarity and (En)countering Loneliness Online

“…Our space is a love-powered portal that routes us back to ways of helping ourselves and one another survive pain and experience joy. In that space, we savor reprieve from loneliness as we learn how, in addition to a virus, “white supremacy, settler colonialism, anti-queer bias, misogyny, neoliberal capitalism, and so on…create our lonely world” (Magnet & Orr, 2022, p. 3; see also Rifino & Sugarman, 2022). Ours exemplifies “spaces of knowledge production outside of those legitimised by the academe,” spaces that are “essential in developing a way of knowing about…Blackness beyond that of a racialised spectacle” (Johnson & Joseph-Salisbury, 2018, p. 151).…”

“…We have intentionally planned to come together for purposes of collaboratively probing the je ne sais quoi of our iteration of love and its pedagogical affordances. Our topic of conversation connects to an emergent line of scholarly inquiry on “pedagogical practices that are inspired by Black feminist approaches that aim to promote solidarity, love and care in either virtual or in-person classrooms” (Rifino & Sugarman, 2022, p. 90; see also Hall, 2021). At Esther’s suggestion, we prepared by reading two articles: “Afrodiasporic Feminist Conspiracy: Motivations and Paths Forward From the First International Seminar” (Vergara Figueroa & Hurtado, 2016) and “Critical Geographies of Love as Spatial, Relational and Political” (Morrison et al, 2013).…”