Homonationalism in teacher education – productions of schools as heteronormative national places

Abstract

The paper interrogates how teacher education and schools are produced as places for simultaneous and intertwined norms of nationality and norms of sexuality. Drawing on data from observations at a Swedish teacher training programme, the concepts of banal nationalism, homonationalism, and precarity are used in order to discuss productions of sexual, national, and cultural subjects. The analysis indicates that homonationalism in education produces tolerable queers together with intolerant migrants. In this way Sweden is produced as a homonormative nation in opposition to nations and subjects that are considered ‘other’. The concluding section suggests using investigations of homonationalism as a tool in teacher education in order to bring about more inclusive schools.

Keywords:

• teacher education
• homonationalism
• LGBTQI

Notes on contributor

Eva Reimers is Professor of Educational Practice at Linköping University, Sweden. Her research focus is on norms and diversity in education.

Additional information

Funding

This paper is based on research from the project ‘Heteronormativity – School as Space for Construction of Sexuality and Gender’, funded by the Swedish Research Council [grant number 2003-4442].