Trained as an anthropologist with very limited background in pedagogy,
for the past few years I have been sharing my teaching between the
Department of Anthropology in the Faculty of Arts, and the Faculty of
Education at the University of New Brunswick. My mandate, among
others, is to teach educators something about anthropology, to present
an anthropological perspective to prospective and experienced
teachers, to encourage graduate students in Education to include
anthropological ideas and methods in their research, to engage
Anthropology graduates in exploring various systems of knowledge
transmission as a form of applied anthropology, and to provide
culturally nuanced courses for Aboriginal and minority students in
Education. This list does not cover all the areas I have become
involved in over this period of time. My current research initiatives
are equally diverse: interviewing local Aboriginal Elders on their
knowledge and their educational experiences and practices, exploring
strategies for Aboriginal language preservation, and developing online
and electronic databases of traditional and heritage knowledge for
community, schools and tourism use. I am aware that there are many
other avenues of teaching and research in the broad field of the
Anthropology of Education. I would like to meet other anthropologists
in Education, or educators interested in anthropology, who are working
across Canada. I am suggesting a roundtable discussion for the
upcoming CASCA conference in Montreal with several aims in mind:
1) To find out how many of us exist in Canadian academia with
anthropological training and a research and/or teaching focus on
Education;
2) To meet and share some ideas and experiences from our particular
positions both inside and outside academia;
3) To discuss the possibilities of forming a regular group under the
aegis of CASCA;
4) To discuss the possibilities of developing a Canadian oriented
collection of articles on Anthropology and Education in order to
inspire a series of debates among our graduate students and colleagues.
To this end, I would like to invite potential participants to present
some of their experiences, best practices, and reflections on the
Anthropology of Education in Canada. Please contact me with a brief
statement of introduction and interest if you would like to participate.
Thank you. I look forward to meeting you in May.
Evie Plaice
Department of Anthropology, and
Faculty of Education
University of New Brunswick
Fredericton NB E3B 5A3
plaice@unb.ca
