Micro-Geographies as Pedagogy: Space, Bodies and Practice

Abstract

We offer as praxis—at the intersection between theory and practice—an essay examining what we are calling the micro-geography of the communication center. Specifically, we challenge communication center practitioners to think about the ways in which everyday practices and “bottom-up” efforts in our centers can work to counter or decolonize top-down decisions and managerialism, particularly around efforts operating under the umbrella, or perhaps guise, of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). A theory of micro-geography provides a framework with which to contemplate how our cultural values of diversity and community are organized and reproduced in the everyday landscape of the center, and how peer-consultants navigate their way toward unique pedagogies that welcome and respond to the needs of the speakers who use the center. Ultimately, we work toward enabling practices and processes from “below,” allowing for critical self-reflection among the communication center staff in order to deepen the center’s overall pedagogy.