Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T17:42:48.005Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Beyond the “Add and Stir” Approach: Indigenizing Comprehensive Exam Reading Lists in Canadian Political Science

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 August 2022

Rebecca Audrey Wallace
Rebecca Audrey Wallace*
Affiliation:
Department of Political Science, St. Francis Xavier University, 2330 Notre Dame Avenue, Antigonish, B2G 2W5, Nova Scotia, Canada
*
Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected].
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Have universities heeded the call from the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada and taken concrete action to integrate and promote Indigenous scholarship in their classrooms? In the field of Canadian political science, this question is vital but underanalyzed. Indigenous knowledges, histories, languages, customs, legal traditions, systems of governance and research methodologies are integral to Canadian politics, but calls for indigenization have often not been met. By analyzing comprehensive exam reading lists for Canadian politics doctoral students in programs across the country, this article argues that a fractured approach to indigenization begins early on in the training of faculty. Indigenous content remains largely underrepresented on exam lists and siloed into Indigenous- or diversity-focused sections of the political science literature. Most Indigenous politics readings engage centrally with sovereignty and the Constitution, with very few exploring the political dimensions of residential schools, gendered violence and other contemporary political issues.

Résumé

Résumé

Les universités ont-elles pris des mesures concrètes pour intégrer et promouvoir le savoir autochtone dans leurs salles de classe ? Dans le domaine de la science politique canadienne, cette question est vitale mais insuffisamment analysée. Les connaissances, les histoires, les langues, les coutumes, les traditions juridiques, les systèmes de gouvernance et les méthodologies de recherche autochtones font partie intégrante de la politique canadienne d'hier et d'aujourd'hui, mais les demandes d'autochtonisation ont souvent été satisfaites par l'ajout d'une semaine de contenu autochtone, plutôt que par l'intégration des connaissances dans l'ensemble du cours. En analysant les listes de lecture des examens complets des étudiants de doctorat en politique canadienne de tout le pays, cet article soutient qu'une approche fragmentée de l'autochtonisation commence tôt dans la formation du corps enseignant. Le contenu autochtone demeure sous-représenté dans les listes d'examens et cloisonné dans des sections de la littérature en science politique axées sur les Autochtones ou la diversité. La plupart des lectures sur la politique autochtone se concentrent sur la souveraineté et la Constitution, et très peu explorent les dimensions politiques des pensionnats, de la violence sexiste et d'autres enjeux politiques contemporains.

Keywords

Canadian politicsIndigenous peoplespolitical science education and teachinggraduate educationcomprehensive examinationsAutochtonisationpolitique autochtonescience politique canadienneéducation et enseignement politiquesenseignement supérieur
Type
Research Article/Étude originale
Information
Canadian Journal of Political Science/Revue canadienne de science politique , Volume 55 , Issue 3 , September 2022 , pp. 687 - 708
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Canadian Political Science Association (l’Association canadienne de science politique) and/et la Société québécoise de science politique

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abu-Laban, Yasmeen. 2017. “Narrating Canadian Political Science: History Revisited.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 50 (4): 895–919.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Alfred, Gerald R., Pitawanakwat, Brock and Price, Jackie. 2007. The Meaning of Political Participation for Indigenous Youth. Ottawa: Canadian Policy Research Networks.Google Scholar
Anderson, Kim. 2000. A Recognition of Being: Reconstructing Native Womanhood. Toronto: Second Story Press.Google Scholar
Barker, Adam J. 2015. “‘A Direct Act of Resurgence, a Direct Act of Sovereignty’: Reflections on Idle No More, Indigenous Activism, and Canadian Settler Colonialism.” Globalizations 12 (1): 43–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Battiste, Marie. 2017. Decolonizing Education: Nourishing the Learning Spirit. Saskatoon: Purich.Google Scholar
Battiste, Marie, Bell, Lynne and Findlay, Len M.. 2002. “Decolonizing Education in Canadian Universities: An Interdisciplinary, International, Indigenous Research Project.” Canadian Journal of Native Education 26 (2): 82–95.Google Scholar
Bruyneel, Kevin. 2014. “Social Science and the Study of Indigenous People's Politics: Contributions, Omissions, and Tensions.” In Oxford Handbook on Indigenous People's Politics, ed. Lucero, José Antonio, Turner, Dale and Van Cott, Donna Lee. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Cote-Meek, Sheila and Moeke-Pickering, Taima, eds. 2020. Decolonizing and Indigenizing Education in Canada. Toronto: Canadian Scholars.Google Scholar
CPSA (Canadian Political Science Association). 2009. 81st Annual Conference Programme. https://cpsa-acsp.ca/documents/pdfs/reports/2009_Programme.pdf.Google Scholar
CPSA Reconciliation Committee. 2022. Indigenous Content Syllabus Materials: A Resource for Political Science Instructors in Canada. https://cpsa-acsp.ca/wpcontent/uploads/2022/04/InCoSy_E_March-25-2022.pdf.Google Scholar
Diament, Sean M., Howat, Adam J. and Lacombe, Matthew J.. 2018. “Gender Representation in the American Politics Canon: An Analysis of Graduate Syllabi.” PS: Political Science and Politics 51 (3): 635–40.Google Scholar
Dick, Caroline. 2006. “The Politics of Intragroup Difference: First Nations’ Women and the Sawridge Dispute.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 39 (1): 97–116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferguson, Kennan. 2016. “Why Does Political Science Hate American Indians?” Perspectives on Politics 14 (4): 1029–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ferree, Myra Marx and Hall, Elaine J.. 1996. “Rethinking Stratification from a Feminist Perspective: Gender, Race, and Class in Mainstream Textbooks.” American Sociological Review 61 (6): 929–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Flanagan, Tom and Cairns, Alan. 2001. “Flanagan and Cairns on Aboriginal Policy.” Policy Options, September 1. https://policyoptions.irpp.org/magazines/how-big-should-city-governments-be/flanagan-and-cairns-on-aboriginal-policy/.Google Scholar
Gaudry, Adam and Lorenz, Danielle. 2018. “Indigenization as Inclusion, Reconciliation, and Decolonization: Navigating the Different Visions for Indigenizing the Canadian Academy.” AlterNative 14 (3): 218–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Godlewska, Anne, Schaefli, Laura M., Forcione, Melissa, Lamb, Christopher, Nelson, Elizabeth and Talan, Breah. 2020. “Canadian Colonialism, Ignorance and Education. A Study of Graduating Students at Queen's University.” Journal of Pedagogy/Pedagogický Casopis 11 (1): 147–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Green, Joyce. 2001. “Canaries in the Mines of Citizenship: Indian Women in Canada.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 34 (4): 715–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Green, Joyce, ed. 2007. Making Space for Indigenous Feminism. Winnipeg: Fernwood.Google Scholar
Henderson, Ailsa. 2007. Nunavut: Rethinking Political Culture. Vancouver: UBC Press.Google Scholar
Ishiyama, John, Miles, Tom and Balarezo, Christine. 2010. “Training the Next Generation of Teaching Professors: A Comparative Study of PhD Programs in Political Science.” PS: Political Science and Politics 43 (3): 515–22.Google Scholar
Kuokkanen, Rauna. 2007. Reshaping the University: Responsibility, Indigenous Epistemes, and the Logic of the Gift. Vancouver: UBC Press.Google Scholar
Kuokkanen, Rauna. 2011. “From Indigenous Economies to Market-Based Self-Governance: A Feminist Political Economy Analysis.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 44 (2): 275–97.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ladner, Kiera L. 2005. “Up the Creek: Fishing for a New Constitutional Order.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 38 (4): 923–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ladner, Kiera. 2017. “Taking the Field: 50 Years of Indigenous Politics in the CJPS.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 50 (1): 163–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawlor, Andrea. 2015. “Framing Immigration in the Canadian and British News Media.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 48 (2): 329–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lawlor, Andrea and Tolley, Erin. 2017. “Deciding Who's Legitimate: News Media Framing of Immigrants and Refugees.” International Journal of Communication 11: 25.Google Scholar
McMahon, Nicole, Alcantara, Christopher and Stephenson, Laura. 2020. “The Qualifying Field Exam: What Is It Good For?” PS: Political Science and Politics 53 (1): 94–99.Google Scholar
Mawn, Barbara E. and Goldberg, Shari. 2012. “Trends in the Nursing Doctoral Comprehensive Examination Process: A National Survey.” Journal of Professional Nursing 28 (3): 156–62.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nath, Nisha, Tungohan, Ethel and Gaucher, Megan. 2018. “The Future of Canadian Political Science: Boundary Transgressions, Gender and Anti-Oppression Frameworks.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 51 (3): 619–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ottmann, Jacqueline. 2017. “Canada's Indigenous Peoples’ Access to Post-Secondary Education: The Spirit of the ‘New Buffalo.’” In Indigenous Pathways, Transitions and Participation in Higher Education, ed. Frawley, Jack, Larkin, Steve and Smith, James A.. Singapore: Springer.Google Scholar
Palmater, Pamela. 2015. Indigenous Nationhood: Empowering Grassroots Citizens. Halifax and Winnipeg: Fernwood.Google Scholar
Peach, Laura, Richmond, Chantelle A. M. and Brunette-Debassige, Candace. 2020.“‘You Can't Just Take a Piece of Land from the University and Build a Garden on It’: Exploring Indigenizing Space and Place in a Settler Canadian University Context.” Geoforum 114: 117–27.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pennebaker, James W., Mehl, Matthias and Niederhoffer, Kate. 2003. “Psychological Aspects of Natural Language Use: Our Words, Our Selves.” Annual Review of Psychology 54: 547–77.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pidgeon, Michelle. 2016. “More Than a Checklist: Meaningful Indigenous Inclusion in Higher Education.” Social Inclusion 4 (1): 77–91.Google Scholar
Sanders, Will. 2015. “Indigenous Politics in the Australian Journal of Political Science: A Review.” Australian Journal of Political Science 50 (4): 679–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sawer, Marian and Curtin, Jennifer. 2016. “Organising for a More Diverse Political Science: Australia and New Zealand.” European Political Science 15 (4): 441–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, Malinda S. and Bray, Nancy. 2019. “The Indigenous Diversity Gap.” Academic Matters (Spring). https://academicmatters.ca/the-indigenous-diversity-gap/.Google Scholar
Tanchuk, Nicolas, Kruse, Marc and McDonough, Kevin. 2018. “Indigenous Course Requirements: A Liberal-Democratic Justification.” Philosophical Inquiry in Education 25 (2): 134–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tolley, Erin. 2020. “Hidden in Plain Sight: The Representation of Immigrants and Minorities in Political Science Textbooks.” International Journal of Canadian Studies 57: 47–70.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
TRC (Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada). 2015. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada: Calls to Action. https://ehprnh2mwo3.exactdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Calls_to_Action_English2.pdf; The Final Report is available in a series of volumes located here: https://publications.gc.ca/site/eng/9.807830/publication.html.Google Scholar
Wallace, Rebecca. 2018. “Contextualizing the Crisis: The Framing of Syrian Refugees in Canadian Print Media.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 51 (2): 207–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wallace, Rebecca. 2021. “‘Warriors Don't Sleep Til Noon’: Colonial Rhetoric and the Framing of Indigenous Recipients of Welfare in Canadian Print News, 1990–2015.” Politics, Groups, and Identities 9 (2): 300–18.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warick, Jason. 2017. “‘It's Not Just Add Indigenous and Stir’: U of S's Indigenization Approach Raising Questions.” CBC News, September 23. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/indigenous-education-university-saskatchewan-1.4299551.Google Scholar
White, Graham. 2017. “Continuity and Change: Fifty Years of the Journal/Revue.” Canadian Journal of Political Science 50 (1): 17–35.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wildcat, Matthew, Kaur, Japneet, Lui, William, MacDonald, Evan, Marchand, Daniella, McInnes, Kate, Netterfield, Shannon, Olsen, Dustin, Alba, Juan Felipe Vargas, Walsh, Mariah, Warlow, Allison and Werkman, Julia 2017. “What Is an Indigenous Content Requirement?” Indigenous Content Requirements in Canada—A Resource Centre. https://ualbertaicr.wordpress.com/what-is-an-icr/.Google Scholar
Wood, Lesley J. 2015. “Idle No More, Facebook and Diffusion.” Social Movement Studies 14 (5): 615–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wood, Patricia. 2015. “Contemplating the Value of Comprehensive Exams.” GeoJournal 80: 225–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Wallace supplementary material

Appendix

Download Wallace supplementary material(File)
File 118.6 KB