Community-Based Learning and Grassroots Voices: Understanding a Community Festival in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside

• In Event: 61.086 - Roundtable Session 21
  In Roundtable Session: 61.086-10 - Community-Based Critical Education for Social Justice

Abstract

Informed by community studies and the holistic approach to understanding media representations proposed by Hoechsmann and Poyntz (2012), this paper presents findings from a critical ethnographic study of a community Festival in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The paper attempts to: 1) deconstruct the media texts at the Festival to examine the power relations between media representations, production, and audiences, and 2) explore the educational functions the Festival serves for community members. Findings indicate that the Festival takes on the dual role of both a mediator and an educational forum. This study will contribute to a fuller understanding of community learning settings that support and empower marginalized groups to create their own voices and assert their rights.

Authors

• Jing Li, Simon Fraser University

• Daniele Moore, Simon Fraser University