An International Pedagogy of Melancholy @ NAFSA Region VI

In her book, Teaching Queer: Radical Possibilities for Writing and Knowing, Stacey Waite writes that learning is akin to grieving as learners discover that the world is not what they thought it to be. In this process, they lose their sense of certainty (p. 46). International education is not exempt from melancholic experiences. In fact, international educational programs are full of moments where we come face-to-face with ideas and experiences that remind us that the world is different than we had ever imagined it to be.

In this session, participants will receive a crash course in queer pedagogy and a pedagogy of melancholy. We will brainstorm moments of melancholy that our international students and our study abroad students face during their programs, and we will strategize on methods for supporting students through these moments of grief and learning.

Learning Objectives:

Recall a definition of a pedagogy of melancholy.
Identify moments of melancholia that their international students and/or study abroad students experience in their programs.
Strategize on methods, materials, and programs that can support international and study abroad students navigate the grieving process.