Decolonizing the Classroom: Reading Aboriginal Literature Through the Lenses of Contemporary Literary Theories

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Database ID	25727
Institution	University of Saskatchewan Libraries Special Collections
Fonds/Collection	University of Saskatchewan Library Theses and Dissertations
File/Item Reference	etd-10252006-070549
Date of creation	2006
Physical description/extent	1 thesis; 310 pages
Number of images	310
External URL	http://library2.usask.ca/theses/available/etd-10252006-070549/unrestricted/balzer_dissertation.pdf
Scope and content	This qualitative study explored the potential for decolonizing the secondary English Language Arts classroom. An interdisciplinary approach was used to explore contemporary theories of literary criticism relevant to the study of Aboriginal literature, including an approach through colonial and post-colonial discourse and the growing body of theory and criticism written by North American Aboriginals; to incorporate literary theory and pedagogical knowledge of content into the development of Aboriginal literature units FOR secondary school classrooms; and to incorporate these new interpretive and pedagogical understandings into the practices of two secondary English teachers using North American Aboriginal literature in their classrooms. A document was prepared that explored the interpretive potentials of postcolonial and Aboriginal literary theories and given to the two participating teachers who were able to use this information to develop instructional units for their literature classes. Action research framed the approach used to implement, revise, and evaluate the units of study in the two grade twelve classrooms. The participating teachers found that the critical lenses enabled them to approach Aboriginal literature with more confidence and insight. They also found that their classroom use of Aboriginal literature disclosed the misconceptions their students held concerning Aboriginal peoples. The teachers were frustrated by the systemic racism evident in their classrooms. They were also frustrated by the resistance shown by their teaching peers toward incorporating Aboriginal literature and anti-racist methodologies into their instruction. The findings of this study suggest that more exposure to critical literary theories and minority literatures in the context of teachers' pre-service and in-service education may help to decolonize Canadian classrooms.
Restrictions on access	There are no restrictions on access.
Contributer	Balzer, Geraldine Anne (author) University of Saskatchewan. Interdisciplinary Studies (Supervisory department / submitted to)
Copyright holder	Balzer, Geraldine Anne
Other terms governing use and reproduction	Permission given for on-line access.
Type	Theses
Primary Media	Textual documents
Provenance Access Point	University of Saskatchewan Library. Theses and Dissertations
Treaty boundaries	No data
Cultural region	No data
Subject	Education Racism and stereotypes Literature
Date Range(s)	2000-
Permanent Link	https://digital.scaa.sk.ca/ourlegacy/permalink/25727