Living and teaching in rural southern Alberta : connecting curriculum, place, and identity
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Date
2016
Authors
Hierath, Sharon A.
University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Education
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Lethbridge, Alta : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Education
Abstract
It is not uncommon to search for one’s ancestral roots, to explore the history of those who
came before us. By engaging in this process, we also gain insight into our own identity,
our shared histories, and our life stories. The graduate project, Living and Teaching in
Rural Southern Alberta: Connecting Curriculum, Place, and Identity, considers how a
specific topos (the place) and its terroir (the conditions under which food is grown or
produced) are significant factors in exploring one’s identity and examining one’s currere
(curriculum). This qualitative narrative inquiry focuses on memory work, in the forms of
life writing and original autoethnography. The project is multimodal and consists of a
variety of texts—personal stories, poems, sounds, and images. The author constructs a
curriculum of place based upon the challenges outlined by Chambers (1999), as well as
the research of Hurren and Hasebe-Ludt (2011) regarding the significance of terroir in
curriculum studies. Applying Pinar’s (1975) method of currere, the author returns to her
past, re/visiting significant places. This provides opportunities for multi-dimensional
reflection, both personal and professional, resulting in a deeper understanding of the
author’s identity. The author considers the works of various narrative researchers, such as
Fowler, Clandinin, and Ellis. The project demonstrates Pinar’s reconceptualization of
curriculum and makes the case that narrative inquiry is essentially a “complicated
conversation” (2004). This includes autobiographical inquiry, understood as both
phenomena and method, which can be useful to students, educators, and curriculum
scholars.
Description
Keywords
narrative inquiry , life writing , curriculum of place , qualitative inquiry , original autoenthnography