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Abstract

Un(becoming) is one of those adjectival words in the Merriam Webster dictionary that holds the tension of its own contradiction. Its synonyms seem to summon an endless array of descriptive abjections: unsuitable, unflattering, unappealing, undesirable, unfitting, out of place, unfit, tasteless, malapropos, unseemly, indecorous, inappropriate, unsuitable. We need not go on to get the point. Becoming, on the other hand, appears entirely positive. It denotes well chosen, tasteful, presentable, welcoming, excellent, graceful, acceptable, agreeable, attractive, effective, and so on; in short, all that which is familiar, acceptable and beautiful. Un(becoming) is, therefore, purposefully presented as a portmanteau word containing the word (becoming), which always gains legitimacy in education through forms of transformation and growth toward some progressive end. It is the very tension, the ambiguity of transformation between these two positions that make it pregnant for creative deconstruction.

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