Entering a crack: an encounter with gossip

Abstract

In this paper, I enter a crack to think otherwise about the concept “gossip”. Drawing on previous scholarship engaging with Deleuzian concepts to inform research methodologies, this paper builds on this body of work. Following Deleuze and Guattari, the paper undertakes a mapping of gossip, subsequent to an encounter with a crack. Thinking about gossip as something other than woman’s small talk, the paper follows a line opening up gossip onto an intensive web of affects and Deleuze’s becoming-woman. It concludes arguing that the process of entering a crack unlocked thought, making possible new ways of engaging with data.

Keywords:

• Gilles Deleuze
• gossip
• becoming-woman
• affect

Acknowledgements

The author wishes to gratefully acknowledge associate professor Susan Edwards (Australian Catholic University) and the anonymous reviewers for their contributions to the development of this paper.

Notes

1. The PAR project was for my doctoral thesis. The study sought to understand what it meant for early childhood teachers to engage in continuous professional learning through action research. It consisted of 10 meetings over a period of 12 months. Pre and post-project interviews were also conducted. The three female early childhood teachers worked in an early learning centre in an Australian private school. The school catered for children from 3 years of age through to Year 12, which is the final year of schooling for Australian students. They were all qualified early childhood teachers with considerable experience. One was the director of the centre; the other two were full-time teachers. At the time of commencing the project, I had been a teacher in the school for 11 years directing a support services department. I resigned from this position 9 months into the project. The educational context of early childhood within a school setting became an important aspect of the study. In Australia, early childhood centres and schools are generally located on separate sites. However, private schools started establishing early childhood centres in the early 1980s stating pedagogical benefits for students as they move through the different stages of their education within the one school. At a governance level, early childhood has been located within health portfolios until recent moves locating early childhood within educational portfolios. The shift has been informed by recent OECD imperatives citing the importance of early childhood having a strong educational focus if all children were to be provided with a strong start to life. This includes arguing that under an educational portfolio, there would be a more coherent and coordinated approach to early childhood, including addressing issues around transition between pre-school and primary education.