MeToo and the Problematic Valor of Truth: Sexual Violence, Consent, and Ambivalence in Public Pedagogy

Abstract

In this paper, the authors consider the #MeToo movement as an act of public pedagogy. They read #MeToo as an example of a public curriculum that speaks back to, and simultaneously participates in, the posttruth era associated with the Trump presidency. What are the public pedagogical and curricular implications of this outcry against sexual assault and harassment? What about understanding education’s complicated relationships with truth and consent? Using the Time Magazine article, The Silence Breakers, and the curriculum documents organized under the hashtag #MeTooK12, Clarke-Vivier and Stearns explore the relationship between public conversations about sexual violence and notions of truth, consent, and education.