One Degree of Wicked: Developing a Practice of Wicked Pedagogy

Workshop Presentation
J.R. "Jones" Estes  

This participant-driven workshop developed out of my recurring struggle to teach issues of socio-environmental sustainability in our time of persistent, top-level resistance to avoiding, and now to addressing, systemic crisis. In 1973, Rittel and Webber first articulated the concept of “wicked problems” to argue that a backlash against the social sciences was due to the adoption of methods meant to solve “‘tame or benign’” problems, but issues of “social or policy planning—are ill-defined; and they rely upon elusive political judgment for resolution. Not ‘solution.’ Social problems are never solved. At best they are only re-solved—over and over again” (Dilemmas in a general theory of planning. Policy Sciences, 4(2), p. 160). Whether it is collaborating on an interdisciplinary research team or simultaneously teaching students the courage and content needed to understand and address a wicked problem, such as the looming environmental refugee crisis, these are professional challenges characterized by their significant complexity, resistance to permanent solutions, and vulnerability to politicization that drain the spirit. Rittel and Webber chose “wicked” for its pejorative connotations; however, in this workshop we will utilize its connotations of “fierce,” “roguish,” “of exceptional quality or degree,” and “disposed to mischief” (www.oed.com) to empower participants to engage their own fierceness as they discover/renew/expand/sustain their work. Specifically, participants will gain an understanding of 10 essential practices of a wicked professor, explore their personal relevance and how they apply within an individual’s professional contexts, and sketch a plan to integrate them into their work.