Transdisciplinary Perspectives Through Queer Studies and Intersectionality for Teacher Professionalization in the Field of “Gender and German as a Foreign and Second Language”

Abstract

The article explores on a practical and theoretical level how the transdisciplinary perspectives of queer studies and intersectionality can be fruitful for teacher training in the field of “Gender and German as a foreign and second language (DaF/DaZ)”. First, the socio-political background in Georgia is discussed, where the author conducted a workshop on the subject in April 2023. The theoretical foundations are then highlighted and a current research overview is given. On the basis of these deconstructivist and power-critical approaches, suggestions are made as to how social norms – especially of gender and sexuality – can be made visible and criticized. It is also important to highlight how these approaches offer a useful tool for teaching German as a foreign and second language that focuses on culture-reflective and discourse-competence-oriented teaching and learning. In the last part, the workshop planned and carried out on the basis of the theoretical knowledge presented above, including the materials used, is presented and its results are evaluated. The goals of the workshop can be summarized as follows: The teachers should be able to acquire theoretical and practical knowledge on the subject of gender in order to feel confident and competent in the classroom and in discussions with parents. The basic pedagogical guideline of protecting LGBT*QIA people from discrimination is only a partial aspect, rather it should be about promoting critical-deconstructive thinking and at the same time avoiding the unquestioned reproduction of a duality of norm and deviation. They should know relevant methods and tools to open up (discursive) spaces for criticism and resistance for learners and the participating teachers should be given a space to perceive themselves as allies who learn and work together and at the same time also have a responsibility for those learners, who do not fit into the “heterosexual matrix”.