Abstract
This paper starts with a personal exploration of my life as an African immigrant in North America. I inhabit a liminal space, and this paper explores negotiating life as a person “inbetween” worlds. Notable theories have been put forward concerning liminality (Anzaldúa, 2002, Ledgister, 2001; hooks, 1984). I discuss the origins of liminality and its various permutations with the aim of clarifying what it means to inhabit this space. Liminality represents a powerful vantage point that accords inhabitants, “not just one set of eyes but half a dozen, each of them corresponding to the places you have been…..” (Said, 1988, p. 48). I acknowledge the ability of liminars to analyze circumstances differently, creating alternative ways of knowing and being. My discussion will draw from personal experiences, postcolonial, and feminist theory. In conclusion, I suggest how we can create purposeful pedagogy considering the changing demographic face of our classrooms.
DOI
10.15760/nwjte.2013.11.1.5
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.
Persistent Identifier
http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/25286
Recommended Citation
Masimira, Mildred T.
(2013)
"Negotiating Liminal Spaces: Purposeful Pedagogy in Diverse Classrooms,"
Northwest Journal of Teacher Education: Vol. 11
:
Iss.
1
, Article 5.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.15760/nwjte.2013.11.1.5