Handel Wright

The full abstract for this thesis is available in the body of the thesis, and will be available when the embargo expires.

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The dissertation is inspired by the concept of relational curating in art galleries and re-orients this work by examining the role and impact of community-centered curation in museums. It supports meaning-making and representation of racialized communities by addressing their long-standing marginalization and disempowerment in museum spaces. A greater understanding of the relationalities within curatorial practice can help museums develop more effective and socially-just forms of engagement and representation that will resonate with racialized community groups and visitors.Theories of museum meaning-making and representation were central to the interpretation of data. When examined through the lens of representation and affect, research on meaning-making sheds light on the aspirations and experiences of racialized peoples during museum encounters. The study analyzes exhibition team members and visitors' meaning-making experiences by studying how people engage, empathize and experience empowerment in museums. The intrinsic qualitative case study, informed by phenomenographic methodology, examines a single multi-sited temporary exhibition primarily through qualitative interviews with exhibition team members and visitors of A Seat at the Table: Chinese Immigration and British Columbia, presented at the Museum of Vancouver (MOV) and the Chinese Canadian Museum of British Columbia (CCM) in 2020-2023. The exhibition, one of the largest museum exhibitions on Chinese Canadian history to date, showcased the lived experiences of Chinese Canadians over the past century through the lens of food, racism, and activism. The analysis demonstrates how theories of meaning-making and community-centered curating can collectively help museums better conceptualize the values and needs of museum visitors. It enables researchers to develop culturally informed curatorial processes of exhibition development as it relates to the representation of racialized communities. This research also draws on the researcher’s self-reflections as the exhibition co-curator, which forms the basis for her reflective praxis as a racialized museum curator.

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Muslims are living a precarious existence in Canada and the discomfort with Islam and Muslims is deeply entrenched in the Canadian psyche, policies, media and school curriculum. This research study explores Muslim youth identity negotiations and sense of belonging at this time of fear and uncertainty and disturbing racism and Islamophobia. It challenges the Muslim “single story”, questions being Muslim and becoming Canadian and explores the role of schools in youth identity negotiations and belonging using ethnographic methods and visual participatory methods. The study was conducted in a Canadian public high school with young Muslim women and men aged 14 to 19, to investigate how Muslim youth from diverse ethnic, cultural, and national backgrounds and with different experiences of (im)migration and displacement construct and perform their Muslimness and /or Canadianness while they are navigating their daily school experiences.The study is framed theoretically by critical theory, transnational feminism, postcolonialism, and notions of diaspora and critical identity and belonging. The different chapters center the experiences and voices of Muslims in Canada and highlight the multiple ways that they construct and perform “Muslimness”, negotiate “Canadianness” and manage the fluid and shifting “in-betweenness” that characterizes their “glocal” lives. This dissertation delves into investigating the intricacies of Muslim youth identities and belonging and also the research dilemmas emerging from the research journey. It presents the complexities of these experiences; the centrality of race and religious visibility in defining how these young women and men feel about being Muslim and /or Canadian, and the situated ways they engage with their Muslim and/ or Canadian identities, their situated belonging and the different “worlds” they are inhabiting and their ways of making sense of them. The study findings highlight that there is a shift from the essentialized self-understanding and self-representation of Muslim identity shaped by transnational belonging, global youth culture and new forms of identification and engagement with religion, culture and belonging that go beyond the assumptions of authentic Muslim identity and the territoriality of belonging. It also identifies the impact of positive school experiences on these negotiations and the participants’ sense of belonging.

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Ethnic-Chinese immigrants, or immigrants of Chinese ancestry, have comprised the largest inbound group to British Columbia (BC) since 1980. It is imperative for them and their multicultural host society to grasp how these populations negotiate their heritage maintenance. This inquiry explores parent perceptions on heritage maintenance for their ethnic-Chinese children in BC, which consists of the maintenance of heritage language (HL) and the negotiation of cultural identity. Conceptually, my research draws upon Darvin and Norton’s Model of Investment, Bourdieu’s notions of capital, and Coleman’s family capital. This collective case study involves interviewing, individually and in groups, a total of eight family cases (14 parents), each comprising one or two parents who have an ethnic-Chinese child enrolled at one BC public school which offers a Mandarin Bilingual Program. The researcher and the participants co-construct meaning through dialogue. In order to encourage a holistic exploration, participants were recruited with diverse migratory trajectories, heritage languages, and immigrant generations/landing ages. Participants expressed a wide range of perceptions on heritage language and cultural identity. Some identified both with Canadian society and the heritage country, some identified primarily with one, and some felt a loss of identification with either. Findings suggest that these varying perceptions may be influenced by migratory trajectory and immigrant generation. In terms of HL, most participants expressed that they enrolled in the MBP for pragmatic reasons, i.e. career prospects, family communication, and psychological protection, rather than to foster cultural identity. Most parents valued bilingualism in the HL and see Chinese HL as one or more forms of capital; however, opinions on the growing global value of Chinese vary. Furthermore, the linguistic expectations and assumptions experienced by ethnic Chinese, perpetrated by both dominant Anglocentric culture and Chinese communities, are illuminated. In conclusion, the discussions and implications include the unanticipated benefits of low dominant language ability, issues of embodied racialized identity, the normalization of marginalization, class issues triggered by economic divides, the differing parental bearings of mothers versus fathers on their children’s education, heritage language as a conceptual link between identity and heritage maintenance, the silver lining of HL loss, and possibilities for heritage renaissance.

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The miseducation of Black students attending Toronto metropolitan secondary schools, as evinced by poor grades and high dropout rates among the highest in Canada, begs the question of whether responsibility for this phenomenon lies with a public school system informed by a Eurocentric ethos. Drawing on Afrocentric Theory, this critical qualitative study examines Black parents’ perceptions of the Toronto Africentric Alternative School and Afrocentric education. Snowball sampling and ethnographic interviews, i.e., semi-structured interviews, were used to generate data. A total of 12 Black parents, three men and nine women, were interviewed over a 5-month period and data analyzed. It was found that while a majority of the respondents supported the Toronto Africentric Alternative School and Afrocentric education, some were ambivalent and others viewed the school and the education it provides as divisive and unnecessary.The research findings show that the majority of the participants were enamored with Afrocentricity, believing it to be a positive influence on Black lives. While they supported TAAS and AE, the minority, on the other hand, opposed the school and its educational model. The findings also revealed a Black community, divided between a majority seeking to preserve whatever remained of (their) African identity and a determined minority that viewed assimilation to be in the best interests of Black students. It is recommended that the school adopt antiracist education; that it appoints a spokesperson to field public inquiries to counter adverse perceptions of the school and its programs; that it fosters an on-going dialogue between its supporters and critics; and, most importantly, that it takes steps aimed at rebuilding relations among the stakeholders, i.e., the school, Black parents, the Toronto District School Board and the community.

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This research of pride is necessarily from but not limited to my own personal searching, as a Cantonese/Chinese migrant across (Northern Guangdong) mountains, (Pearl River) delta, and (East Pacific) waterfronts. To explore what (Chinese) pride means in context, who needs it, and how it relates to the learning of empowerment, privilege, and diversity, I deploy a multi-biographical method to explore the mixed productions and expressions of pride. These multi-biographical sources include: audio life history interviews with thirteen community activists in the East Pacific port of Greater Vancouver and specifically in Richmond where significant streams of Chinese diasporas locate, five autobiographical accounts in a national Chinese-Canadian online project, and audio-video clips of two Chinese-Canadian stories in a transnational Chinese television/online program. Searching and researching these life stories, I find (Chinese) pride articulable on two journeys. A journey of diaspora emphasizes the flux of pride, expressible in a trio of gendered stories from women’s heritage to both women and men in migration and further to queer and nonqueer immigrant youth collaboration. A journey of state emphasizes the stability of pride, expressible in a trio of multicultural stories from nation-state citizenship to local citizenship and further to a global state of mind. While this mix of life journey/storytelling speaks in its own way towards more soul-searching and politically-sensitive projects of learning, my conclusion is more modestly about bringing four small elements to cultural studies of education: namely, extramural education as collaborative praxis, aspirational learning in political literacy, critical education with place-based and mobile cultures, and a reflexive take on why (and in what ways) cultural studies of education matters to me. With all these tissues of pride alive, I hope primarily and modestly to create openings in what could be done between/with you and me.

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This study examines the meanings, interpretations, and experiences of citizenship in the lives of young Iranian immigrants in Canada in order to (1) offer a conceptual approach to migrant youth citizenship that fills gaps in dominant conceptualizations of citizenship in Canada, and (2) provide recommendations for the improvement of models of citizenship education relevant to lived experiences of migrant youth. Contemporary conceptions of citizenship in Canada are underpinned by assumptions closely aligned with a multicultural national identity and stress formal aspects of citizenship, which undermine substantive aspects of citizenship. Moreover, citizenship education is traditionally conveyed within formal schooling contexts, thereby neglecting the informal processes of learning citizenship for immigrants. To address these weaknesses, this study examines how citizenship is learned within and across diverse informal sites for Iranian immigrant youth. This understanding helps to situate more effective approaches to education that account for culture, locality, and the social, and political contexts in which learners are embedded. In 2010, I conducted a six-month ethnographic study with 12 first-generation immigrant Iranian youths aged 19-30 in Vancouver, Canada. Analysis of semi-structured interviews and participant observation disclosed citizenship as a process of learning within individuals’ lived experiences. In-depth engagement with the research findings, informed by concepts associated with cultural studies, diaspora studies, and cultural citizenship, reveal three conceptual commitments that aid understanding of citizenship and learning for citizenship: (1) identity as situated within multiple, shifting, intersecting, and interlocking dimensions; (2) citizenship as situated within multiple constructed boundaries of membership; and (3) citizenship as an iterative process of learning. This inductive framework situates citizenship discourse within the national and global contexts in which immigrant youth are embedded. This study contributes to theoretical and empirical literature on substantive and social citizenship and citizenship learning for immigrant youth in formal and informal contexts. It also offers practical recommendations for improving models of learning citizenship within formal schooling contexts by including: a conceptual commitment to move beyond a nation-based focus on citizenship, a curricular commitment to focus on the lived experiences of learners, and a pedagogical commitment to focus on informal and experiential modes of learning.

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This dissertation explores the experiences of social, cultural and educational inclusion/exclusion of Turkish immigrant youth in Vancouver, Canada. I undertake this work within the context of inequality, such as racism and other forms of social and educational marginalization. My theoretical framework combines sociology of immigration (e.g., Hall) with sociology of education (e.g., Bourdieu). The main methodology is a critical qualitative approach. In total, 14 young people, ages 15-25, participated in this research. The findings of the study indicate that Turkish youths’ experience of inclusion/exclusion in Canada changes according to their immigration and socio-economic status, gender and religious affiliation. Muslim and first generation young people suffer from cultural and accent discrimination, stereotypes and general Islamophobia in the social sphere. The imposition of the dominant language, values, habits and habitus on minority students as the legitimate truth and lack of respect for minority students’ cultural background are forms of discrimination against minority youth in Canadian schools. The social and educational marginalization of young people affects their conflicted identities and sense of belonging in the host country. Conditional acceptance leads minority youth to have a conditional sense of belonging.

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The purpose of this study is to increase understanding of Islamic education in Canada with an emphasis on how two educational institutions promote and maintain an Islamic worldview and identity in a secular pluralistic society. To achieve this goal, the study explores the nature and meaning of Islamic education in a national context, in which such education is caught between the edict to transmit and promote Islamic values on the one hand, and secular multiculturalism values on the other. This qualitative research uses an instrumental case study to provide an in-depth understanding of two participating Muslim schools in British Columbia, Canada. The case study, however, instrumentally offers understanding for Islamic education in a multicultural context. Findings from this research indicate that while Islamic educational institutions in Canada utilize various tools to nurture Islamic identity and worldview, they still face considerable internal challenges including limited resources and internal diversity. The internal challenges are exacerbated by external pressures in the form of Islamophobic sentiments fueled by poor media coverage. The dissertation recommends that Islamic educational institutions join the multicultural conversation with a genuine Islamic voice. Similarly, in order for these institutions to provide adequate Islamic education, they need to adopt targeted Islamization and embrace multiple identities.

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When expressing the phrase music lessons, one often visualizes students with their musical instruments practicing scales or compositions with the intent of memorizing the music. Although music can actualize as mnemonic practice, this dissertation focuses on other lessons that music teaches us by examining how musical knowledge is produced. Building on the ideologies articulated within a framework of cultural studies, the dissertation attempts a pedagogical praxis that establishes a fluid and dynamic conversation to express both my theoretical and empirical findings. The findings then are not definitive answers to the questions I pose about music’s effect, but operate as a process of opening up these questions to further reflection. The dissertation, by invoking a praxis-based structure, communicates both the theoretical “how” of music as praxis involved work and my practice of realizing music as culture-in-action.The dissertation aims to redress music – not only in terms of music making as transformative praxis but also to assert that music, as a means of producing knowledge within critical discourse, can be situated as the subject versus the object of effect. Because a core component of music is its ability to be inclusive of all cultures/peoples, the dissertation examines how the performative aspects of music intersects sites and people of differing class, gender, race and culture to articulate music’s capacity for negotiating difference. Pitched in this way, music can no longer be regarded by critical educators as being on the sidelines of critical discourse but rather will be seen as integral to transforming consciousness and realizing praxis.By informing and expanding upon the theory and practice of critical pedagogy, this music discourse not only seeks to influence a broader idea of social justice praxis but can also operate as a predominant cultural component in promoting peace education.

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