Bringing to Life “Unrealistic” Ideas Co-Creating Courses with Undergraduate Students for Radical Change in the Humanities

• Published in: English studies in Canada Vol. 47; no. 4; pp. 91 - 98
• Main Author: Jary, Sheena
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Edmonton Association of Canadian College and University Teachers of English (ACCUTE) 01.12.2021; Association of Canadian College and University Teachers of English; ESC: English Studies in Canada
• Subjects: Classrooms; Collaboration; College students; Cultural differences; Cultural studies; Culture; Curriculum development; Curriculum planning; Education; Education, Higher; Education, Humanistic; Feedback; Higher education; Humanistic education; Humanities; Inclusion; Learning; Literary studies; Methods; Multiculturalism & pluralism; Pedagogy; Positivism; Professional relationships; Social justice; Syntactic movement; Teachers; Teaching; Canada
• ISSN: 0317-0802; 1913-4835; 1913-4835
• DOI: 10.1353/esc.2021.a932532

In Potlatch at Pedagogy, Sara Florence Davidson and Robert Davidson remark that, "Formal education can lose its meaning for many students when it does not allow them to imagine themselves in the worlds they inhabit outside of school" (69), a statement that reiterates bell hooks 's call for transformative pedagogy, one that celebrates "teaching that enables transgressions-a movement against and beyond boundaries. In the first term, students will practise problem-based learning, embracing the richness of Elder Albert Marshalls concept of "Two-Eyed Seeing" (see Hatcher et al.); topics would range from community-related issues, cultural issues (for example, issues related to equity, diversity, and inclusion in the university), diverse ways of knowing, holistic learning, and the relationship between language and power. [...]undergraduate students will not be familiar with course development, so their term-two seminars will involve a combination of instruction, discussion, workshopping, and peer feedback sessions. Holistic learning and different ways of knowing are means of promoting diversity and inclusion by denying the supremacy of Western positivism. Because the academic institution has traditionally valued certain types of knowledge while concurrently devaluing other types of knowledge (for example, lived experience, nonacademic skills, hobbies), holistic learning is an important part of the co-creation of courses.