‘You think you know, but you have no idea’: on anger, critical pedagogy and the dilemmas of being a teaching artist

Abstract

What constitutes ‘teacher identity’ and ‘artist identity’ have received considerable scholarly attention but there has been little exploration of how these identities intersect in the practice of ‘teaching artists’. This article argues that paying close attention to that practice, as well as the artist’s own perspectives and reflections on it, produces important insights into this intersection, including where it becomes both productive and problematic. Drawing on portraiture methodology, it analyses how the Marshallese spoken word artist, Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner, structures and delivers workshops in order to develop the critical consciousness of participants. Drawing on Webb Keane’s discussion of consciousness-raising and ‘ethical feeling’ in the feminist movement of the 1960s, as well as insights derived from Sara Ahmed’s reconceptualisation of the ‘feminisit killjoy’, the central role that the emotion of anger plays in her approach is explored. The article goes on to share some of Jetñil-Kijiner’s own reflections on the workshops, their outcomes, and her complex positionality as a Marshallese artist engaged in de-colonial work within a neo-colonial context. In conclusion, some broader questions about the artist/teacher intersection, the transferability of critical pedagogical approaches, and the challenges of teaching through emotion are raised.