B.A. M.A. (Brock), Ph.D. (Trent)
Thesis: A Pedagogy of Renaturalization: Moving Through and Beyond Intellectual Slut Shaming
Examining Committee:
Veronica Hollinger (Supervisor), Kathryn Norlock and Karleen Pendleton Jimenez
External Examiner: Heidi Ravven, Hamilton College
Internal Examiner: Nadine Changfoot
Chair: May Chazan
Abstract
This three-part dissertation will consider both theoretical and practical implications that Baruch Spinoza's (1632-1677) immanent philosophical system holds for developing a contemporary “pedagogy of renaturalization.” One of the intents of this thesis is to draw out how “intellectual slut shaming” is a naturalized part of neoliberal subjectivity. In chapter one, we will make the case that the Cartesian and neoliberal subjects share several parallel structures, including mind-body dualism. We will look at how Spinoza’s work supplies us with a powerful critique and expansion of the Cartesian subject. The intent here is to explore how we might apply a similar critique to the neoliberal subject and construct a more joyful subject that resists guilt, shame, and self-hatred. In chapter two, we will explore how Spinoza’s method of affirmation can give us a process to engage ourselves in a pedagogy of renaturalizing ourselves; in other words, to engage in the radical self-reflexivity of understanding ourselves as a part of Spinoza's Nature in order to better affect becomings of ethical joy. We will also examine the challenges and criticism of the affirmative method, and how paradoxically these criticisms serve to reinforce intellectual slut shaming. Chapter three will explore the potential of the methodology of autoethnography and the development of what we are calling “auto-ethology” as a way to put such an affirmative method into practice. By reviewing the dissertation as a whole, we will show how it has been an engagement with Spinozist radical self-reflexivity all along and a performance of auto-ethology.
Joanna Perkins is visionary, writer, award-winning scholar, ThetaHealer®, and the creator of Sensitiveselfcare.com. Her research at Trent brought together many fields of study including education, philosophy, history, critical psychology, and feminist theory. She was a recipient of the prestigious SSHRC Joseph Armand Bombardier Canadian Graduate Scholarship Doctoral Award, as well as a SSHRC Doctoral Fellowship. Prior to this, Joanna completed her Masters Degree in Child and Youth Studies at Brock University in St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada.
Joanna's extensive interdisciplinary studies have given her a tremendous visionary wisdom into Western group conscious beliefs. This wisdom allows Joanna to create radical shifts for anyone who desires to live life truly on their own terms and surpass external forces. In particular, she helps her clients disconnect from the thoughts, feelings, and judgements of other people and societal group conscious beliefs. Joanna specializes in creating one-on-one spiritual intensives and ThetaHealing® retreats for highly sensitive and empathic individuals who have achieved extraordinary success and are ready to discover themselves on an even deeper level. In her spare time, Joanna enjoys spending time with her husband, going for nature walks with her dog Napoleon, cooking and eating delicious food, wearing pretty colours, lounging, zoning-out, and basking in the sun.
Stay on the look-out for her forthcoming book, Moving Through and Beyond Intellectual Slut-Shaming: Learning to Renaturalize Ourselves.
To learn more about Joanna's work, please visit www.intellectualslutshaming.com