AESA 2017 Annual Meeting - Final Program

Memory, Remembering & Forgetting: Re-Envisioning Educational Worlds

The ontological vocation of educational studies scholars must be to co-construct, deconstruct, and reconstruct educational worlds (spaces, practices and knowledge) so that schooling experiences become more equitable and just in our democratic society (Freire, 1993, 2000). The problem of memory looms large in our ability to do this work—whether we acknowledge it or not. Memory work, which includes remembering and forgetting our own educational experiences, shapes every aspect of our jobs as teachers, researchers, and/or activists committed to maintaining public schools and communities that serve us all equitably. Emerging educational research suggests that teachers’ memories of childhood influence their teaching philosophies, classroom practices, and everyday interpretations in schools (Biklen, 2004; Chang-Kredl, 2015; Chang-Kredl & Wilkie, 2016; Miller & Shifflet, 2016). Linking memory studies to educational studies raises both new and enduring questions. The 49th annual meeting of the American Educational Studies Association will explore the role of memory, remembering, and forgetting as key features of teaching, learning, and work in and outside of schools.