Guest Editors: David Donahue, Maria Autrey Noriega, Lori Selke, Mauro Sifuentes
This special issue of the International Journal of Human Rights Education (IJHRE) queers human rights and human rights education, drawing on the multiple definitions of queer: as a noun, adjective, and verb. As a noun, queer is an umbrella term for members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, intersex, asexual/aromantic/agender, two spirit (LGBTQIA2S+) community, with the plus sign in the acronym holding space for new and expanding understanding about identity related to sexuality and gender. As an adjective, queer speaks to departing from the norm, differing from expectations regarding sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sex characteristics (SOGIESC). As a verb, queer refers to challenging all that is considered normal and natural. Queering is about troubling power and replacing binary thinking with more complex, fluid ways of understanding.
In keeping with these multiple definitions, the editors of the special issue seek articles that are about the human rights desires and celebrations of LGBTQIA2S+ people as well as the challenges and contestations of those rights. In addition, we seek articles that challenge normative thinking about human rights and HRE, particularly in terms of gender and sexuality and that trouble what it means to teach and research in the field of human rights. We welcome scholarship that not only expands what we know but questions, challenges, and complicates how we come to know something and why we think it is valuable.
We welcome contributions looking inside and outside of the classroom, across all global settings, from early childhood, primary, and secondary education to higher education, adult education, and immigrant/refugee education and their intersections with HRE curriculum and educational materials; HRE pedagogy and practices; HRE community and spaces; HRE history and scholarship; and/or HRE advocacy and policy. Visual art, poetry, and creative nonfiction are welcomed as well as texts grounded in social science. We also seek book reviews, including reviews focused on trade books and children’s literature, as well as scholarly texts, focused on SOGIESC.
Proposal deadline: April 10, 2024
HRE USA 