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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: rwallace@stfx.ca.
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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

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