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- Erin Silver, University of British Columbia
L.2.1 Uninvited dark objects
- Sasha Opeiko, University of Western Ontario
L.2.2 Resisting Erasures: Covert Subversion and Resistance in an Age of Silencing
- Sheetal Prasad, York University
Archivist Verne Harris (2008) calls for a social justice-oriented approach to archiving and classrooms. He reminds archivists, researchers, and educators that the archive is a “crucible of human experience(s), a battleground for meaning and significance, a babel of stories, a place and a space of complex and ever-shifting power-plays” (Harris, 2008, p. 85). History classrooms are influential in fostering a sense of criticism, belonging, and social justice awareness in students. With a focus on social justice awareness, critical race theory unmasks systemic racism that is enmeshed into our educational systems (Ladson-Billings, 1999, pp. 212-213). For example, the ways in which racialized and marginalized group are represented in textbooks seem to have their history (struggles, achievements and resiliency) erased from the typical history curriculum standards (Ontario Black History Society, 2020). Education scholar Daniel G. Solorzano (1997) posits that critical race theory aims to dismantle form of subordination, such as race, gender, sexual orientation, class and dis/ability. The U.S.’s current rule to ban critical race theory raises fears that a similar ban will happen in Canada. This paper presentation utilizes case studies as examples of how we can reimagine ways in which photo-history (archives) and the foundations of critical race theory can be presented and engaged with in history classrooms. Through arts-based methods such as bricolage (Levi-Strauss, 1966) and education methods such as problem-posing (Freire, 1968), I posit that critical race theory can be covertly taught through nontraditional teaching and learning methods.
keywords: history education, counter-narratives, arts-based research, social justice classrooms, archives
Sheetal Prasad is a Ph.D. student in the Faculty of Education at York University. Her current research examines representation within Canadian history classrooms for secondary schooling and how the typical colonial narrative presented in classrooms can be intervened through multimodal learning and engagement. Sheetal combines archival and art research methods to create augmented reality works that inform viewers of multiple perspectives in Canadian history. Sheetal holds an MFA in Interdisciplinary Art, Media & Design at OCAD University where she examined the paradigm shift of South Asian perspectives in Canadian history and Ontario’s need to reform its history curriculum. Sheetal also holds an Honours BFA in Studio Art at McMaster University where her research explored identity politics and parallels between historical and contemporary representations of identity.
