Contemplation, Reflexivity, and Gender/ Sexual Diversity in the Classroom
An ACMHE Contemplative Education webinar with
Dr. Kerr Mesner
Independent scholar, previously Assistant Professor in the School of Education at Arcadia University
Originally broadcast on Friday, September 28th, 2018
From Dr. Mesner: “This webinar will offer an introduction to my work developing contemplative and anti-oppressive approaches to addressing issues of gender/sexual diversity in the classroom. As an out transgender/queer scholar and educator, I am deeply aware of the importance of thoughtful, grounded, ethical approaches to better addressing the needs of our students with diverse gender and sexual identities and expressions.
With that in mind, I work from the foundational premises that a) anti-oppressive approaches to gender/ sexual diversity are vital–particularly within our current socio-political contexts; b) reflexivity–that is, critical self-reflection–is foundational to the work of gender/sexual diversity in education; and c) contemplative practices offer us an ideal pathway into this reflexive work. Through this webinar, you will have an opportunity to engage with these three threads experientially, as well as to reflect on your own teaching practices relating to gender/ sexual diversity in your own classrooms.”
About the Presenter
Dr. Kerr Mesner is an independent scholar, and was an Assistant Professor in the School of Education at Arcadia University. Kerr is also a queer Christian minister and theologian, a theatre performer and educator, and an activist. Kerr completed his doctoral dissertation at the University of British Columbia, in Vancouver, Canada. Kerr’s doctoral research explored performative autoethnography, queer theology, and anti-oppressive education in addressing religiously rooted anti-queer violence, and includes an original one-act play written and performed by Mesner. The dissertation was awarded the Recipient of the 2014 AERA Division B: Curriculum Studies Dissertation Award. Kerr’s current areas of research and writing include gender and sexual diversity in education, trans and gender nonconforming identities, arts-based educational research, contemplative educational practices, and anti-oppressive approaches to education. Kerr recently completed a new play exploring the experiences of transgender lives in our current political climate, and premiered this play in Canada in Spring 2018.