Feminist Cyberspaces: Pedagogies in Transition is a collection of essays exploring the ways in which new media technologies are being used in the feminist classroom. The collection has been structured to reflect the multifaceted nature of education today. Learning takes place on a personal level through independent study and social media; it takes place at a local level in our classrooms and lecture halls, but it is also increasingly taking place on a global scale as new technologies foster international collaboration between individuals and organizations. In addition, there is a growing acceptance of learning in the collaborative 3D classrooms of virtual worlds. These educational spaces are not mutually exclusive, as the contributions to this volume make clear. The anthology explores how technology is being used in antiviolence teaching, art education, HIV and AIDS education, and other specialized topics, but it also gives many examples of innovations in teaching introductory courses. The technology used ranges from the implementation of course management systems for large university classes to the use of digital storytelling in small groups outside the university. It also explores technology for removing barriers to people with disabilities in both traditional and online classrooms. The collection is not a how to book, but it does use practical experience as a basis for feminist theorizing of the classroom. All of the essays look at the use of new technology in the light of feminist pedagogy, seeking new ways to foster provocative, creative and non-hierarchical learning that transcends the physical boundaries of the university.
About the Author: Sharon Collingwood received her PhD from The University of Western Ontario and teaches in the Department of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies at The Ohio State University. In 2007, she received grants from The Ohio Learning Network and the Department of Continuing Education at Ohio State to develop a teaching and research space in the virtual world Second Life; she has been teaching distance courses there since that time. In 2010, a grant from the American Association of University Women allowed her to develop the Women's Virtual Community Project, a series of lectures, concerts, workshops and other events that encourage dialogue and collaboration in Second Life communities. Alvina E. Quintana received her PhD from the History of Consciousness Department at the University of California at Santa Cruz, and teaches in the Department of Women's Studies at the University of Delaware. Her publications include articles on multicultural literature and cinema studies. Aside from book chapters and articles, she has published two books: Home Girls: Chicana Literary Voices (Temple University Press) and Reading US Latina Writers: Remapping American Literature (Palgrave/Macmillan Press). Her research interests focus on feminist theory; sexuality and difference; new technologies, transnational gender studies with a particular emphasis on the intersections between US Latino/as and Latin American cultural practices; multiculturalism in the USA and abroad; the internationalization of American Studies. Caroline J. Smith is Assistant Professor in The George Washington University's Writing Program, where she teaches freshmen writing classes themed around her interests in women's literature and popular culture. Her book, Cosmopolitan Culture and Consumerism in Chick Lit (Routledge Press, 2007) focuses on how the genre of chick lit interfaces with magazines, self-help books, romantic comedies, and domestic-advice publications. Her current book project, The Politics of the Kitchen: Postfeminism and Women's Food Writing, is a scholarly analysis of the work of contemporary female food memoirists, looking specifically at the way in which these women construct their identities in relation to the kitchen.