Desire Paths: A Reflection With Preservice Students in the Eventful Space of Learning

Abstract

This article addresses how thinking alongside the notion of Deleuze and Guattari’s use of the term desire may frame learning as a transformative process of becoming. This article discusses a project that engaged a cohort of preservice students in a reflection on desire paths. Artmaking within these improvised sites asked the cohort to confront and problematize expectations about teaching and learning in the art room. Extending the metaphor of the desire path into the geophilosophical work of Deleuze and Guattari, this article reflects on the shifting terrain of the learning assemblage and suggests the figuration of nomadic pedagogy. The article considers the role artistic processes have in plugging into the assemblage and reflects on the emergence of learning as a pedagogical event. Ultimately, this article borrows from Deleuze and Guattari’s portrayal of a performative ontology of becoming in order to support the project of becoming-learner.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Notes

¹ All student names in this article are pseudonyms.