Today education is a global phenomenon with widespread implications for individuals and communities. In this seminar, we will study education as a social construct through interdisciplinary and qualitative research approaches. To do so, we will engage with current theoretical and historical perspectives of research as well as practical research exercises. Across engagements students will be asked to examine how research can reproduce or disrupt current structural inequalities and power imbalances in ways that advance social justice. By weaving opportunities to learn and deconstruct the theories shaping research and its practices, this course is designed to support students as they critically examine education across contexts, understand the complexity and plurality that currently characterizes research, and gain familiarity with its practice.
Course Acknowledgements
The knowledge, spirit, and work of many others have significantly contributed to the learning outlined in this syllabus. I explicitly would like to acknowledge the work of Professor Melissa Freeman and the Qualitative Research Program at the University of Georgia.
- Instructor: Cristina Valencia Mazzanti