LGBT and Queer Research in ESP: Theoretical Implications

Abstract

Gender discrimination in higher education is a rooted phenomenon. The overall structure of Western society shows that scholarship on LGBT and queer individuals and organisations in higher education deserves deeper theoretical concern. The presence of several approaches and research on gender issues is the outcome of a limited application of queer theory on academic education in that, as Kristen A. Renn suggests, “[l]esbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT), and queer research in higher education is embedded in a central paradox: although colleges and universities are the source of much queer theory, they have remained substantially untouched by the queer agenda”[1]. This article ventures to suggest that, notwithstanding the effort to recognise the value of queer theory, universities have not surrendered on the queering of higher education itself. It also proposes reflections and theoretical implications on the interrelation between ESP and the new directions in LGBT and queer research to enhance and improve educational practise and expertise within both queer and nonqueer academic organisations.

[1] Renn Kristen A., “LGBT and Queer Research in Higher Education: The State and Status of the Field”, in Educational Researcher, Vol. 39, No. 2, 2010, pp. 132-141, https://www.msu.edu/~renn/RennLGBTQueerEdResearcher.pdf, accessed online 29/10/2014.