ISRR: Radical Relational Pedagogical Innovation and Epistemology

This ISRR seminar that took place on March 8, 2024, focuses on radical relational pedagogical innovation and epistemology. Presentations on the topic are given by Zoltan Lakatos (Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Communication at Budapest University of Technology and Economics), Jenna Woodrow (Associated Teaching Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy, History, and Politics at Thompson Rivers University), and Melody Devries (Assistant Professor of Digital Media & Ethnography in the Department of Communication, Media, and Performance at Allegheny College). First, Zoltan presents on how pragmatic approaches to teaching, specifically in immersing his students in historical sites, can help students learn from a radical relationist perspective. Second, Jenna presents on the radical relationist teachings of Indigenous epistemologies. Third, Melody presents on what radical relationism can provide undergraduate students and related exercises to help students reflect. A discussion and question period follows with the ISRR group. The group discusses and poses questions on topics involving teaching, students, and instructors such as de/colonial radical relationism, Indigenous epistemologies, the importance of lived experience in the classroom, the dynamic flux of relations, autonomy and the self, and student reflections on positionality in classroom exercises. Books mentioned in this seminar: As We Have Always Done: Indigenous Freedom Through Radical Resistance” by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson “Don’t Sleep, There are Snakes: Life and Language in the Amazonian Jungle” by Daniel Everett “The Souls of White Jokes: How Racist Humor Fuels White Supremacy” by Raul Perez The ISRR is an international group of scholars workshopping what radical relationism means and how it may have similarities to Indigenous ways of knowing. Their approach is one of compassion and allyship. The group displays ongoing acknowledgments of Indigenous territories, identities, knowledge, as well as expressed gratitude for the group. The lived experiences of group members helps provide rich context for various topics covered by ISRR workshops and seminars.