The Capacity of Connection: Engaging Academic Disciplines with Democracy, Community, and Identity
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Authors
Carle, Ariella
Issue Date
2024-05-01
Type
thesis_campus
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Keywords
Community Identity Democracy Curriculum Interdisciplinary Multimodal , Education
Alternative Title
Art of Teaching Thesis - Written
Abstract
It is not enough to think of interdisciplinarity only in terms of curriculum. We also have to think about HOW we teach, and what of ourselves, as teachers and as engaged humans, we are bringing to the classroom and to our students. What I’m proposing as necessary is a conception of interdisciplinarity which foregrounds the humanity of both students and teachers as prerequisite; which considers care and growth of identity as its own discipline; and which goes beyond curriculum and extends, crucially, into interdisciplinarity of approach. I will further argue that, rather than taking away valuable instruction time from academics, engaging multiple disciplines and modes on this level can buttress and enliven academic subjects, while also better equipping children to be flexible thinkers and communicators in a swiftly changing world. It can also begin to unravel the negative effects of the “hidden curriculum” most often associated with traditional education, the worst effects of which are felt most consequentially on those who have already been injured by historic marginalization. Transforming the implicit part of curriculum by acknowledging the value of different ways of knowing, being, learning, and speaking, in a school setting, can also begin the process of re-engaging humans with their sense of citizenship, and help them to know that they have a hand in shaping a participatory democracy.
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