Admittedly the concept of “humanizing the work” is vague. What work? How does one humanize work? Am I simply talking about work that is done by humans? This section of my portfolio answers these questions but it also speaks to an idea that has overtime become a focus of the variety of experiences in internships, my job, and in the classroom. I think I am supposed to say that it is my area of specialization, and while I am indeed labeling the idea of “humanizing the work” as my area of specialization, I also want anyone reading this to consider that humanizing the work is not a fixed skill. There is no “expert” in how to humanize the work, but my hope is that by piecing together my professional and personal experiences where I have humanized my work and various critical pedagogies and strategies that one is able to start engaging in their own version of humanizing the work OR maybe you are like me and you have finally found a term to use for something that you already engage in! I also think that it is very important to note that the first time I heard this term was from my advisor, Kim McAloney, who helped give a name to something I continued to ramble on about in trying to put together an unorganized thought I was having (Thank you, Kim). Throughout this section of my portfolio as previously mentioned, I will (attempt to) describe what humanizing the work is, provide the foundational works that have informed this notion for me, and why it is that I believe in and incorporate the concept of humanizing the work.

So what is this about and why is this important to me (and hopefully you)?? Humanizing the work is about incorporating a lens from critical pedagogy regarding how to create, care for, and engage in relationships and bonds with other humans in a holistic fashion that exists in the context of one’s profession. Much of the Western world has emphasized the disconnection and silencing of one’s authentic centering of the whole self (particularly this is the case for those with marginalized identities) in the workplace and the higher education sector has not been immune from this manifestation. This standardization of nullifying lived experiences is couched in white supremacy culture that informs the development and implementation of praxis. Humanizing the work disrupts this systemic phenomenon and encourages practitioners to deconstruct oppressive obstacles and begin to simultaneously rebuild a socially inclusive and liberating praxis, as well as relationships that are adjacent to and intertwined within the work.

Put simply, my interpretation and implementation of humanizing the work comes from many facets, the first being critical pedagogies: Sentipensante pedagogy (Rendón, 2009), engaged pedagogy (hooks, 1994), and Pedagogy of the Oppressed (Freire, 1972). Each of these pedagogies advocate for the liberation and freeing of education from the oppressive and restricting traditions that exist to perpetuate privilege for some (dominant identities) and marginalization for others (minoritized identities).

Freire (1972) gives foundational concepts to consider when thinking about how to humanize the work. He critiques and refutes the idea that the educator is the knower of all and the student should be an empty receptacle that will become a knower of all after the educator has explained all of their knowledge. He instead calls for a collaborative approach that levels the power dynamic that exists in an educator/student relationship. For the purposes of humanizing the work, the leveraging of power dynamics is intrinsic in the ability to begin humanizing the work and does not exist solely between educator and student. There are many relationship dynamics informed by identities that could be substituted in place of the educator/student construct that have parallels. Without the holistic input and inclusion from all sides of the relationship, humanization is not possible. hooks (1994, p. 14) necessitates the need for students to have the space made by educators to be active participants not passive consumers and have a reciprocal role with an educator through engaged pedagogy, which is informed by critical pedagogy such as Freire and feminist scholarship. More specific to humanizing the work, hooks (1994, pp. 77-92) speaks to the importance in the inclusion of lived experiences (passion of experience, passion of remembrance) from students in the educating process. When considering the educator in the context of engaged pedagogy, hooks (1994, p. 15) defines the process of self-actualization as the educator placing emphasis on their own personal well-being to be in a place where they can empower, educate, and heal others. This notion of healing as a component to humanizing the work as an educator is explored and encouraged as well by Rendón (2009) in Sentipensante pedagogy. Additionally, Rendón (2009, p. 138) positions the teacher and learner in between four key concepts: artist, activist/social change agent, healer/liberator, and humanitarian. For me, while there are connections with humanizing the work and all four of the key concepts, there is a strong association between humanizing the work and both activist/social change agent and healer/liberator. Humanizing the work entails both healing and liberating potential trauma that exists in the whole consideration of humans in a relationship to allow for social change to occur in the workplace.

I have found that the utilization of pedagogy in humanizing the work I am a part of is best supported and complemented by the use of strategies that also center progressive and liberating concepts. The first of which, Scholarly Personal Narrative (SPN) (Nash, 2004), I have used personally during my mentoring internship with Kim McAloney, Jenesis Long, and Trina Ramirez and more specifically was foundational in the production and presentation of our paper, Full Circle: Mentoring Graduate Students Through Writing A Literature Review On Mentorship (Long, McAloney, Ramirez, & Whisler, 2019). SPN acknowledges the fact that every individual’s lived experiences and truths shape the ways in which we perceive and react to the work in front of us (Nash, 2004). It provides a basis and vessel for the incorporation and validation of lived experiences in scholarly and professional work which has ripple effects relating to humanizing the work in which individuals are engaged. Another strategy which shares its name with the title of the book, Emergent Strategy (brown, 2017), is thoroughly informed by social justice activism. There are six different elements to the emergent strategy: Fractal, Adaptive, Interdependence and Decentralization, Non-linear and Iterative, Resilience and Transformative Justice, and Creating More Possibilities (brown, 2017). Similarly to Sentipensante pedagogy (Rendón, 2009), humanizing the work has roots in each of these elements but has a particular connection with Resilience and Transformative Justice. brown (2017, pp. 142-144) has a section within the Resilience and Transformative Justice chapter dedicated to “Liberated Relationships” (p. 142). She identifies three truths that those engaged in liberating relationships must acknowledge. The first being that we are products of our capitalistic society in that if allowed in, emotions are an obstacle to our ability to produce and our production is the defining factor of our worth (brown, 2017). Second, supremacy and the oppression that it forces on marginalized persons has deep and cutting effects on everyone, but in varying ways (brown, 2017). Finally, any kind of truth telling is viewed as disruptive and only those at the top have the permission to engage in this truth telling (brown, 2017). Despite the fact that these are posed as macro-level conceptual truths, she goes on to say that these hard truths are present at the micro level as well, in individuals’ everyday lives (brown, 2017). There are three principles she advances as means to confronting the aforementioned hard truths as well as developing liberated relationships: radical honesty, the simultaneous acknowledgement of the dynamics that exist in spaces and the growth in the face and complexity of those things, and giving up the idea that you can fix or create those you come into contact with that have their own lived lives (brown, 2017). The incorporation of these principles and accepting truths has had profound impacts on me as I have navigated spaces in classrooms, internships, and my job in which I have/ have had varying levels of power and privilege while attempting to humanize my work with supervisors, colleagues, peers, and students.

My experiences within the CSSA program have been an essential catalyst for the furthering of my own individual journey in terms of social justice and activism. I view humanizing the work as a method in which I as someone with many privileged identities confront my own susceptibility to reinforcing systems of oppression as well as how I can use my privileges to advocate for systemic change. Humanizing the work is a call to action that never subsides and has been a core concept for me as I develop as a professional. It creates opportunities for actionable items in the very spaces and relationships in which I am present and encourages the importance of genuineness and intentionality within those contexts. Approaching our work through a humanized lens brings us closer.

brown, a. m. (2017). Emergent strategy: Shaping change, changing worlds. Chico, Ca: AK Press

Freire, P. (1972). Pedagogy of the oppressed. New York: Herder and Herder.

hooks, b. (1994) Teaching to transgress: Education as the practice of freedom. New York: Routledge.

Long, J., McAloney, K., Ramirez, T., & Whisler, G. (2019). Full circle: Mentoring graduate students through writing a literature review on mentorship. The Chronicle of Mentoring & Coaching, 3, 12, pp. 252-257.

Nash, R. (2004) Liberating scholarly writing. New York: Teachers College Press.

Rendón, L. I. (2009). Sentipensante (sensing/thinking) pedagogy: Educating for wholeness, social justice, and liberation. Sterling, Va: Stylus Pub.

• CSSA 548: American Higher Education
• CSSA 520: Multicultural Issues
• CSSA 553: Student Development in Universities and Colleges II
• CSSA 599: Elective: Social Justice

• Mentorship
• Student Conduct and Community Standards