Gender, Space, and Discourse across Borders: Talking Gender in Cyberspace

by JaneMaree Maher and Chng Huang Hoon

"Feminist academic practice crosses boundaries/borders of disciplines, of identity and of difference" (Kirkup 2005: 27)

Preamble

The possibility of online student collaboration over cyberspace for two groups of students in Australia and Singapore was conceived by JaneMaree Maher at Monash University in Australia in 2005 after hearing a paper given by a colleague that detailed the experience of a threeway cross-country dialogue using flexible learning technologies (see Pickering et al. 2004). A recent visit to the National University of Singapore had elicited the information that a gender studies minor had just been established; on the basis of these two factors, Maher approached NUS gender studies colleagues, and Chng Huang Hoon followed up with enthusiasm. An email correspondence ensued, which established our mutual interests as feminist pedagogues in gender, space, and teaching, and we decided to generate a cross-national collaboration within the courses we teach that focus on gender, media, and space in the Australian classroom and language, gender, and feminist practice in the Singapore location. This project offered a unique opportunity for educators and students to engage in cross-national learning in cyberspace. The proximity of Australia and Singapore and the minimal time zone difference facilitated collaboration.