Collective Illustrating of Socioecological Care Toward Pluriversal Speculations (Poster 3)

• In Event: Speculative Science Education Toward Socioecological Care

Abstract

Introduction and Framing
Socioecological care conceptualized from decolonial perspectives goes beyond anthropocentric view and instead re-center human kinships to more-than-humans (Bang & Marin, 2015; Kimmerer, 2013). In our multiple ongoing projects, we have been considering how we could mobilize transdisciplinary experiences (Author & Colleague, 2022) toward care-full relationship with the soil and the land (Puig de la Bellacasa, 2015). We have tried to see and illustrate “the pluriverse, a world where many worlds fit” (Escobar, 2018, p. xvi), by learning from the experiences of forced displacement for those who used to be intimately connected to the soil and the land. We use speculative design of collective illustration as a future-oriented approach to reimagine historical silencing and oppression in/of learning (Garcia & Mirra, 2023), grounding in stories of forced displaced peoples from the lands.

Methodology
We weave together multiple forms of lifenotes as a methodology to collectively illustrate socioecological care. Dillard (2000) positioned life notes as a method of an endarkened feminist epistemology to uncover ideologies of historical oppression and resistance, centering researchers’ positionality and learning. We see research as “a responsibility, answerable and obligated to the very persons and communities being engaged in the inquiry” (Dillard, 2000, p. 663). As four of Womyn of Color researchers, we together weave our lifenotes, as we engage in stories of the soil and the land which were shared by children in the process of our design and fieldwork. We collectively transform our analysis, lifenotes of learning, and children’s stories into visual and artistic illustrations rooted in speculative design (Garcia & Mirra, 2023), which moves us towards socioecological care.

Findings
We together illustrated what a new world for socioecological care toward pluriversal speculations could look like (Escobar, 2018; Garcia & Mirra, 2023). In this process, we came to learn that stories of the land and of the soil shared by refugee children as a powerful source of knowledge to re-imagine STEM education as transdisciplinary experiences which disrupt colonial, capitalistic, and militaristic disciplinary assumptions and orient us to socio-environmental justice (Author & Colleague, 2022). We reflected on the stories of children who experienced displacement, re-considering our own positionalities and responsibilities in order to re-imagine a possible future for learning. We came to learn how we were impacted by these stories as we continue our work in various aspects of our lives. Fundamentally, the shared stories of the land and the soil transformed the ways we see “learning” and “learners.” The depth of scientific knowledge exhibited by refugee parents and children on the land is often obscured in the school context. Our illustration depicting this rich knowledge can be a catalyst for transforming dominant STEM education. We also came to change the ways we view “languages” both in and out-of-school learning spaces, especially by listening carefully to what historically suppressed languages in school spaces can communicate scientifically. Methodologically, we discuss the potential power of visual art, which could allow us to re-imaging a future for learning, bringing the displaced communities and peoples at the center.

Authors

• Shima Dadkhahfard, University of Calgary

• Miwa Takeuchi, University of Calgary

• Sophia Thraya, University of Calgary

• Mahati Kopparla, University of Pittsburgh