Anarchism, pedagogy, queer theory and poststructuralism : toward a positive ethical theory, of knowledge and the self

Many anarchist pedagogical practices and perspectives can be understood alongside postructuralism and queer theory because they are concerned with subjectivity, in terms of shaping individuals according to maximum possible “autonomy.” This is a process that both perspectives tend to consider as fundamentally situated and collective. As such, anarchist approaches to pedagogy can easily be allied with poststructuralist ideas about the subject as nonfoundational and, therefore, while not predisposed to any particular way of being, having the potential to be fostered according to a particular ethic. My concern in this chapter is to offer a formulation to anarchist approaches to pedagogy, of what, according to poststructuralist ideas of the subject, autonomy can be, and how it can be fostered, maximized, and maintained.