CRUISING UNCERTAINTY: QUEERING DEWEY AGAINST HETERONORMATIVITY
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
12-1-2023
Abstract
Dewey’s philosophy of inquiry and criticisms of the quest for certainty align well with concepts from queer theory. In the following, I draw Dewey’s work together with that of queer theorists, especially that of José Estaban Muñoz, Jack Halberstam, and Kathryn Bond Stockton, as a step toward developing queer pragmatism beyond the vernacular notion of practical political compromise. In the spirit of the work of Charlene Seigfried, Shannon Sullivan, Barbara Thayer-Bacon, Mary Vorsino, and others who argue for connecting Dewey’s work with feminist theory, I argue for re-reading Dewey through a queer lens. Extending Dewey’s criticisms of certainty to include heteronormativity provides a view of his work as a form of queering that coheres with Muñoz’s utopian concept of queer futurity, Halberstam’s positive notion of failure, and Stockton’s idea of growing sideways. Imagining pragmatism and queer theory together proves fruitful for both. Dewey’s philosophy of inquiry helpfully subtends queer projects and advocacy. Concepts from queer theory help advance Dewey’s philosophy into inquiries concerning oppression and identity, including issues concerning gender and sexuality. As Shannon Sullivan has indicated, Dewey’s ideas of habituation, as well as his concepts of doing and undergoing, align well with Judith Butler’s concept of performativity and apply to reconfiguring gender to undermine essentialism. I build upon Sullivan’s work through queering Dewey’s philosophy. Although Dewey is writing from within a heteronormative framework, his philosophy is not necessarily delimited by adherence to a male-female, heterosexual-homosexual, or masculine-feminine binary system when reconstructed as queer. Queering helps open Dewey’s work beyond the confines of heteronormativity that have restricted the scope of his philosophy. This ongoing process provides tools that help solidify an argumentative phalanx against authoritarian ideology that is based upon unfounded, absolutist, and heteronormative assumptions concerning gender and sexuality. Dewey’s pragmatism provides a critical perspective for undermining absolutist and essentialist ideology that are being used to police identity, desire, and growth. Queering Dewey’s work provides a significant contribution to the development of queer pragmatism beyond the politics of compromise.
Recommended Citation
Tschaepe, M. (2023). CRUISING UNCERTAINTY: QUEERING DEWEY AGAINST HETERONORMATIVITY. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.pvamu.edu/arts-and-science-facpubs/18