Session 1 - Deep Reading For Feminist Theory
By the end of the session, students will:
- Understand different reading strategies for theoretical texts (esp. feminist theory).
- Learn how to slow down and analyze dense academic prose.
- Practice collaborative close reading on a challenging passage.
- Begin building a research matrix for integrating class texts into their final project.
Reading Theory is Different! On Deep Reading and Intellectual Patience
“Theory texts are not puzzles to be solved, but companions to think with.” — Sara Ahmed
Discussion: What do you read? How do you read?
What is Deep Reading?
- Deep reading involves active, reflective, critical engagement with complex texts — it’s not about speed, but depth.
- Contrast with surface reading (reading for gist, facts, or plot).
- Originates in literary theory but is vital in philosophy, feminist theory, sociology, etc.
Why Theoretical Texts Are Hard (and That’s Okay)
- They often use specialized language.
- They might feel circular or dense because they’re abstract.
- You’re not supposed to “get it all” on the first read — instead, build understanding over time and across contexts.
*Puwar writes from within a tradition of feminist and postcolonial critique — she's speaking both with and against an academic lineage.
Different Modes of Reading
Mode |
Use |
Tip |
| Skimming | For early exposure or review | Useful before close reading |
| Close Reading | For analysing sentence structure or argument | Annotate and paraphrase |
| Dialogic Reading | Reading in conversation with others | Ask: What is the author responding to? |
| Critical Reading | Challenging assumptions | Ask: What is missing? Who is centered? |
Strategic Reading of Feminist Theory
- Read with a question in mind: e.g., “How is power embodied here?”
- Highlight threshold concepts: e.g., “somatic norm,” “space invaders.”
- Read with humility: allow the text to surprise you.
- Be okay with discomfort: theory can unsettle — that’s its job!
Strategic Reading in Theory — Key References
Feminist theorists also have takes on how to read complicated texts. Here are some examples.
Linda Tuhiwai Smith – Decolonizing Methodologies
-
- Suggests that academic knowledge is shaped by colonial structures — reading must be critical and contextualized.
Sara Ahmed – Living a Feminist Life
-
- Ahmed suggests theory is lived, not just read. Reading feminist texts means letting them transform how you see the world.
bell hooks – Teaching to Transgress
-
- hooks talks about “engaged pedagogy” — reading is a practice of freedom, not just mastery.
Rita Felski – The Limits of Critique
-
- Challenges the idea that reading must always be adversarial — proposes “postcritical” reading that balances critique with attachment and understanding.
Barbara Christian – The Race for Theory (1987)
-
- Warns that theory can become too abstract, alienating those who live the realities being theorized. Use this to remind students why deep reading must stay grounded in lived experience.
Suggested Strategies
Strategy |
How it helps |
Example |
| Chunking | Break dense sentences into parts | What’s the subject? Verb? Key term? |
| Margin Notes | Make thinking visible | “Why this word?” “What does this imply?” |
| Slow Reading | Resist the urge to skim | Reread a sentence multiple times |
| Theoretical Glossary | Track and define repeated terms and concepts | Add to a matrix over time |
(...In other words...why am I here talking to you about this stuff?)
Authority is Constructed and Contextual (Frame 1)
Information, in any format, is produced to convey a message and is shared via a selected delivery method. The iterative processes of researching, creating, revising, and disseminating information vary, and the resulting product reflects these differences (Association of College and Research Libraries, 2016).
- Information creations are valued differently depending on the context and purpose for which they are created
- Audience matters. Certain things are created for specific purposes and don't make one format of information better. It is up to us to discern what information process best fits our information needs.
- In your own creation process, understand that your choices in what type of information you use, impact the purpose for which the information product you create will be used and the message it conveys.
“Who gets read as trustworthy in a research space? How does embodiment matter in scholarly authority?”
Research as Inquiry (Frame 4)
Research is iterative and depends upon asking increasingly complex or new questions whose answers in turn develop additional questions or lines of inquiry in any field.
Research is a process of asking complex, open-ended questions and exploring them through investigation. Rather than seeking a single correct answer, this frame emphasizes that inquiry is iterative — ideas evolve over time as new information is discovered, and understanding deepens. Students learn to ask increasingly sophisticated questions, recognize gaps in existing knowledge, and value the process of exploration itself. Inquiry involves engaging with sources critically, identifying various perspectives, and seeing research as a creative, reflective, and recursive endeavor.
Deep reading is part of developing inquiry-based habits: you ask what’s assumed, what’s missing, what’s contested.
Scholarship as a Conversation (Frame 5)
Communities of scholars, researchers, or professionals engage in sustained discourse with new insights and discoveries occurring over time as a result of varied perspectives and interpretations.
This frame highlights that scholarship is not static or authoritative in a top-down way; instead, it's an ongoing dialogue among scholars, communities, and ideas. Researchers build on, respond to, critique, and reinterpret each other’s work across time and disciplines. Participating in this conversation involves understanding the context of ideas, citing others ethically, and contributing new insights. Students are encouraged to see themselves not just as consumers of information, but as potential contributors to academic and public discourse.
How do terms like “somatic norm” fit into a larger conversation — not just facts, but contributions to a discourse? For your final project, do other theorists address this or respond to this concept? How?
Source: Project Cora https://www.projectcora.org/assignment/information-spectrum
Activity – Dissecting Dense Sentences (25–30 minutes)
We are going to break out into small groups for the next bit. I have put together some difficult passages. Work in your group to slow down and unpack your assigned passage. Use the tools we’ve discussed: chunking the sentence, looking up unfamiliar terms, asking good questions, and reading with care. Each group has a different excerpt.
I have created a research matrix template that might help you make notes/keep track of your weekly readings.You can download a copy and edit it if you think it will help!
How to use the template
Column 1: Add citation details for each reading.
Column 2: List 2–3 theoretical terms or key ideas (e.g., somatic norm, disciplinary power, intersectionality).
Column 3: Summarize the core argument in your own words.
Column 4: Think about which real-world sociological issues this reading helps explain — e.g., hiring bias, immigration policy, institutional racism.
Column 5: Identify overlaps or tensions with other texts. Do authors agree or disagree? Build on one another?
Column 6: Note how this reading might help you with a final paper, research question, or case study.
Next visit, try to be prepared with ideas about your final project topic. We will workshop where to look for other scholarship to support the topic, through the libary, Google/Google Scholar. I will show you some databases, demonstrate how to develop a search strategy, and show you some other cool stuff.
Exit Ticket
On a sticky note, write down one concept or phrase you understand better now, or one question you still have.
