Abstract
Qualitative research in SEP is flourishing yet remains mostly anchored in interpretivist/constructionist epistemologies and conducted using individual interviews (McGannon et al., 2021). Training for qualitative SEP students is thus focused on mastering replicable methodological skills, with a heavy emphasis on voice-centric methods. The purpose of this presentation lies in exploring how a posthuman pedagogy could be deployed to expand qualitative training in SEP. First, critiques of conventional humanist qualitative research will be offered. For example, arguments will be put forth as to how humanist methodologies have hegemonic powers that incarcerate thought, foreclose genuine discovery, and impede a full appreciation of the complexity of life. Moreover, a case will be made that humanist methodologies reduce reality to the tiny sliver available to human cognition, casting man's faciality onto the world and sustaining a loop of representation that forces us to dwell in already prefigured futureless repetitions. These critiques will be followed by a move toward a posthuman pedagogy. Recommendations will be offered for how qualitative SEP researchers should be trained to favour concepts-based inquiries, readthinkwrite, deprivilege human voice, think beyond the human, reimagine the role of the teacher/supervisor, and compost/make kin. Posthuman pedagogical training for qualitative SEP researchers, situated as a philosophical apprenticeship, can help stretch the politico-ethical imaginary, unthink anthropocentric biases, invoke new ways of conceiving the human, and attune to accelerating ecocatastrophes and planetary mutations. In conclusion, the neoliberal university and the Anthropocene will be situated as important challenges to deploying a posthuman pedagogy in SEP research.
