Recalcitrance and feminist pedagogy Autoethnographic reflections on anti-gender mobilisations at the university

This article discusses an anti-gender mobilisation at the University of Amsterdam that sparked a widespread media and political debate about the perceived threat of ‘wokeness’ to academic freedom. Our analysis draws from a range of experiences, including classroom dynamics, institutional hearings, meetings, and informal discussions among colleagues. We examine the challenges of care and feminist pedagogy considering allegations that gender and sexuality programmes contribute to ‘a concerning radicalisation’ and endorse ‘woke ideology’. Specifically, we explore how the conflation of an individualised notion of academic freedom and potential hate speech became plausible in the neoliberal university, and how we responded by reclaiming academic freedom as a justice-centred collective right and duty. In the face of institutional silence and ongoing denial of the legitimacy of non-binary persons, we engaged in recalcitrant acts of resistance. These actions, which included discussing and critically analysing the allegations in some of our classes, underscored the university’s inadequacy in safeguarding marginalised students and staff, as well as the academic disciplines we represent.