The Sound of Social Studies Job Searches: The Possibilities of Posthuman Listening

Listen, (re)listen

as it plays

and rearranges in my social imaginary (Asar Brown, 2022; Freeman, 2016)

I was preoccupied with material relation

when I tune back in (Guyotte & Flint, 2021)

change the dial

like a radio station

I realize that sound opens up

and I can pay attention

to the tension of

the candidates in this session

wanting to teach social studies

but not wanting to coach

the overlapping voices

rapidly speak

about their attempts to gain employment

sharing their stories

of the horrors of

conversations with principals

“Could you coach tennis, please?”

listening

I hear the more-than-human

gender as a construction

limiting the possibilities

of social studies (Busey & Waters, 2015; Conner & Bohan, 2018; Chiodo, Martin, & Rowan, 2002; Fitchett, 2010; Knowles, Hawkman, & Nielsen, 2020; Stacey, 2014)

in Southern cities

it is a resonance of

resistance to the potestas (Braidotti, 2006; 2011; 2017; 2019)

of structures meant to stifle

meant to stop

certain bodies (Hansen et al., 2018)

(re)listening

I hear the strangling of hope

in the net of the soccer coach

because it matters more

to have goals than to attend

to our students’ souls

as they navigate the world

of white supremacy and gender inequality

it sounds like

social studies curriculum is thrown out

so that a football can be thrown across

a field of turf

and even in hearing

this dismal connection

I realize sound allowed

an attention

to that which is not always questioned

during the social studies job hunt

this posthuman sound and listening (Flint, 2021a; 2021b)

brings in relation

the social studies teacher coach,

patriarchy,

sports,

and frustration

and

listening, I hear

difference, or at least desire for difference

in the myriad of voices

challenging the status quo (Hawkman & Shear, 2020; Utt, 2018)

and this difference is potentia (Braidotti, 2006; 2011; 2017; 2019)

which is an essential

for

affirmative future(s)