Intersecting discourses of militarism: military and academic gendered organizations

Abstract

This article explores the ways in which military constructions of gender intersect with academic ones. Its focus is to connect military discourses of duty, honour and service before self with academic ones of commitment and productivity. As such, it engages in an institutional analysis of the gendered organizations of the military and academia and the associated implications for lifelong learning and education. First, I discuss how, despite resistance from countless educators, corporatism and militarism have come to influence many forms of lifelong learning and higher education. Then, I detail the ways in which both the military and academia, with their unique purposes, are gendered organizations, requiring inordinate dedication and commitment to institutional ends. Finally, I conclude that educators must continue to recognize, problematize and challenge gendered discourses that privilege militarism in higher and lifelong education.

Keywords:

• higher education
• militarism
• gender
• corporatism
• lifelong learning

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the anonymous peer-reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions.

Notes

1. Mosser's use of the term 'praxis' seems more connected to practical application, as opposed to its use by many adult educators in a Freirean (2000) way that emphasizes the need for conscientization and critical inquiry that leads to social action.

2. A preliminary version of this paper was presented at the Senior Women Academic Administrators of Canada (SWAAC) 2011 conference.

3. However, it is still present in some Collective Agreements, of which Brock University is one.

4. This is also occurring at several other universities (Turk, 2014).

5. I am currently conducting research, with students as participants, to explore how they interact with militaristic representations on campus.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nancy Taber

Nancy Taber is an associate professor in the Faculty of Education at Brock University. Her research explores the ways in which learning, gender and militarism interact in daily life, popular culture, academic institutions and military organizations. She has most recently edited a book titled, Learning gendered militarism in Canada: Lifelong pedagogies of conformity and resistance.