(Un)seen work: the pedagogical experiences of black queer men in faculty roles

Abstract

While the body of literature that deliberately underscores the experiences of Black faculty is growing in volume and complexity, the intersectional experiences of Black faculty members have seldom been a focus of inquiry. To address this gap, this study explores how Black queer men reconcile and engage their Blackness and queerness while occupying roles within the academy. Insights from this collaborative autoethnographic study, informed by a quare conceptual lens, illuminated the pedagogical experiences of Black queer men faculty at historically White institutions (HWIs). Using these insights as a point of departure, we close with a message for Black queer men who are currently in or aspiring to faculty roles.

Keywords:

• Black faculty
• quare studies
• queer studies
• diversity
• pedagogy
• autoethnography
• intersectionality

Notes

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 We purposely chose to use “queer” within this work due to its power to be used as an identity marker that challenges the heteronormative standards surrounding gender and sexuality that are apparent within the broader societal context (Mobley & Johnson, 2019). “Deployed as a politic, queer moves beyond the boundaries of an identity marker, making the term useful in examining one’s social location to power and key state interest. Queer centers non-normative sexual and gendered behaviors, expressions, and discourses from the margins, giving the term potential to deconstruct heteronormativity” (Blockett, 2017, p. 814). Ultimately, queer is utilized within this study to nuance Black gender and sexual identities that have been and are often deemed deviant in larger societal discourses.

2 Within academic and societal discourses there are pervasive messages that portray queer communities as tragically queer. These narratives have thus unfairly marked queer communities with connotation that signifies subversion, despair, hopelessness, and even death (Mobley, McNally, & Moore, 2019; Nunokawa, 1991).

3 We use historically White institutions (HWIs) to underscore the unjust historical and contemporary racial infrastructures that are in place that still overwhelmingly advantage Whites at the expense of communities of color who have and still do attend, teach, and work at these institutions (Mobley, 2017; Mobley & Johnson, 2019; Smith, Yosso, & Solórzano, 2006).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Steve D. Mobley

Steve D. Mobley, Jr. is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education Administration at The University of Alabama. His scholarship focuses on the contemporary placement of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Particularly, his research underscores and highlights the understudied facets of HBCU communities including issues surrounding race, social class, and student sexuality.

Leonard D. Taylor

L. Leonard D. Taylor, Jr. is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education Administration at Auburn University. He holds a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership, Policy and Development from the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities. Through research he interrogates and seeks to advance how administrators, faculty and staff members support student success in higher education contexts.

Chayla Haynes

Chayla Haynes is an Assistant Professor of Higher Education Administration and the recipient of Texas A&M University's Robert and Mavis Simmons Faculty Fellowship. Her research interests and expertise include: critical and inclusive pedagogy, critical race theory and intersectionality scholarship, and Black women in higher education.