Tracing Desires, Finding Utopia: Examining 2SLGBTQIA+ Students’ Queer Worldmaking in Higher Education Through Participatory Art-Based Research

Abstract

Higher education holds the potential to positively impact 2SLGBTQIA+ students, yet they often face discrimination and violence. Drawing upon Tuck’s (2009) desire-based approach and Muñoz’s (2009) concept of queer utopia, this study focuses on the lived experiences and desires of 2SLGBTQIA+ students. It aims to explore how they navigate, resist, and reimagine higher education through queer and trans ways of knowing. Utilizing queer methodologies, specifically participatory action research and visual methods, the study investigates how queer and trans students envision thriving within institutions. Findings reveal dynamic and subjective experiences of queer thriving, shaped by their desires and challenges. Despite encountering violence, students engage in worldmaking and freedom dreaming for a queer utopia, both individually and collectively. This study illuminates the gap in research on queer thriving and worldmaking in higher education, calling for further examination of these dynamic processes and the nuanced experiences of 2SLGBTQIA+ students. It underscores the need for ethical leadership and a shift towards a thriving-centered approach in higher education, supporting and challenging queer and trans students in their identity and personal development.