In preparation for the PgCert workshop, I was excited to read a section of Sara Ahmed’s What’s the Use? On the Uses of Use (2019). I was suprised to find this on the reading list, as I know Ahmed’s writing on everyday feminism, and hadn’t considered her as a pedagogic expert. The text explores how the concept of ‘use’ can shape institutions, objects, and individuals. The text examines how repeated actions and expectations reinforce certain norms, making some paths easier to follow than others. Relating Ahmed’s ideas to my teaching practice, I thought about how teaching practices might become rigid through habitual use and due to institutional expectations, but also how critical reflection on “use” could create a more inclusive and dynamic learning space.
Ahmed (2019) discusses how repeated use can create wear, making some concepts or structures appear self-evident while marginalizing others. This resonates with higher education teaching, where long-standing traditions shape curriculum design, assessment methods, and classroom interactions. For instance, conventional lecture-based teaching remains dominant, even while many teachers value Freire and hooks’ critical pedagogy (1970, 1994). Reflecting on my own teaching, I notice how I feel that I need to justify my value as a holder of knowledge to impart to others, and this might limit opportunities for a more engaged and participatory learning.
One of Ahmed’s points is that what is seen as ‘useful’ is often aligned with institutional power. In teaching, this translates to the privileging of certain knowledge forms, disciplinary hierarchies (sound is subvervient to visual mediums), and assessment practices. Learning at University needs to be measurable, which might not value all the ways in which learning actually occurrs and is evident. I have observed this in my own teaching when students write formulaic essays to meet the criteria set out, rather than using the opportunity to write in more creative ways that might better suit their subject or their own instincts. Their position as customers who’s future appears to depend on their grades can limit what they can achieve in terms of the development of their own practice.
Ahmed (2019) also explores how some paths become well-trodden through repeated use, while others are obstructed or rendered invisible. This can be seen in how certain cannonical voices, perspectives, and methodologies are prioritized. For example, curricula often center Eurocentric theories and texts, reinforcing existing power structures (hooks, 1994). As a teacher, I recognize my responsibility to challenge these exclusions by incorporating diverse voices and encouraging students to question dominant narratives. By doing so, I aim to make knowledge more accessible and meaningful to a broader range of students.
References
Ahmed, S. (2019). What’s the Use? On the Uses of Use. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.
Freire, P. (1970). Pedagogy of the Oppressed. New York: Herder and Herder.
hooks, b. (1994). Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. New York: Routledge.