Practicing Refusal in the Learning Sciences

• In Event: Refusal, Resistance, and Agency: Toward More Expansive Visions of Being and Becoming

Abstract

In this theoretical paper, I theorize the notion of refusal in the context of both Black, Indigenous scholarship with a focus on aesthetics. I introduce the practice of refusal as a needed practice in the learning sciences, (2) discuss my community-based research project within the framework of refusal, and (3) conclude by describing the tensions and implications of practicing refusal based on my experiences, when pursuing nonconforming and incommensurable research practices in the learning sciences and academia.

Author

• Jarek Sierschynski, University of Washington