Edinburgh Napier University

  Using audio recordings of naturalistic classroom interactions as data, this chapter explores a re-conceptualisation of power as caring relations. The perspective adopted here is derived from Bloome, Power Carter, Christian, Otto and Shuart-Faris (2005) which offers a feminist rethinking of power as ‘power with’ rather than ‘power over.’ Intrinsic in their model is the belief that communities like the classroom are more than a collection of individuals but also a network of emotional, caring connections between teachers and students. This chapter draws on Brown and Levinson’s (1987) social interaction theory to illustrate how Filipino professors use language to show care by the strategic downplaying of power and the use of linguistic devices that invoke solidarity.