Dissenting with queer theory: reading Rancière queerly

Abstract

In this article, the author looks to the work of Jacques Rancière to engage the possibilities in dissensus in queer theory in education. Fatigued of Foucault, bored with Butler, disdainful of Derrida and dumbfounded by Deleuze and Guattari, and just generally tired of feeling bullied into citing particular people and not others, the author attempts to join the growing use of Rancière in queer theory. Questions of queer theory's (or is it theories) relevance, its purpose, its contributions are asked more and more. While some have dissented from queer theory for perhaps queerer pastures, the author dissents with queer theory showing how humor provides a concrete “application” to dissent from education's continued reactionary and conservative approaches. Queer theory may have been institutionalized, but it remains, as the author argues, a necessary and important political framework to intervene in the ongoing process of normalization.

Keywords:

• queer
• Rancière
• dissensus
• education
• humor