Peer Teaching on Repeat: Reflecting on Time in Shared Pedagogical Praxis

Abstract:Why take the same class three times in a row? This simple question sits at the heart of our article's exploration of higher education and temporality. We examine the disruptive and generative potential of a pedagogical collaboration in which undergraduate students may enroll for three semesters in a course focusing on peer-based teaching in anthropology. Against a neoliberal educational ethos that positions courses as mere steppingstones toward graduation and careers, this class encourages students to repeat practices and actions multiple times over the course of up to a year and a half. In this repetition students develop compounding skills and learn to revel in the variations and patterns possible through iterative and collaborative work. This article is structured as a reflective conversation among six student participants in this course and the instructor, a cultural anthropologist. Collectively, we think about what it means for students to engage in a collaborative process that focuses on dwelling in repetition and which, we argue, pushes back against the linearity of degree programs and the commodification of educational time. Authorial note: Authors two through seven committed equal time to the creation of this article and are organized here alphabetically.