Miriam Ticktin's Casualties
of Care: Immigration and the Politics of Humanitarianism in France presents
clear, articulate arguments about the transnational institutions, discourses,
and practices that shape "apolitical" humanitarian causes in France.
She raises profound questions about what constitutes a morally legitimate
suffering body, and the biological/affective registers that must be combined to
have a life as a politically recognized subject. Her research shows the
unintended effects of the politics of care which are based on a moral
imperative. What types of narratives and performances do san-papiers in
France have to invoke to elicit compassion and human services? Sadly, only the ones
who present themselves as sick enough, disabled enough, or violated enough can
obtain immigration papers. This creates a completely different problem in the intersection of immigration and humanitarianism. Ticktin deconstructs the moral imperatives and all the contextualized layers.
Ticktin's work was
extremely helpful to my research because she used a genealogy of discourse as
one of her research methods, which I plan to use in my dissertation. She
combined this research method with ethnographic research of the experts, state
employees, medical professionals, and activists involved in the sans-papier
struggle in France. In this class, Ticktin’s writing has helped me most
with the methodology I am trying to create for my dissertation.
In my dissertation, I
hope to write a genealogy of discourse on non-religious spiritual epistemology
and pedagogy, which can also be coined as contemplative education.
Non-religious spiritual epistemology and praxis as a part of education
began with the Stoics in Greece during 3rd century B.C. Since its inception in
the West, several philosophers, feminists, poets, and pedagogues all over the
world have advocated for it to be a part of a holistic education.
My dissertation aims to
trace this genealogy into it's most present form today. Cynthia B.
Dillard work's on endarkened transnational feminism provided a theoretical
framework for me on the spiritual nature of research and teaching. Like other
transnational or post-colonial feminists, she does advocate for spirituality to
be a part of research, writing, and teaching.
After I finish the
genealogy on non-religious spiritual epistemology and praxis, I plan to conduct
a research study on professors in higher education who draw upon spiritual
traditions like yoga or meditation, to facilitate an anti-oppressive pedagogy.
My research inquires the definitions and practices of
contemporary professors in the field of contemplative studies? How have these practices impacted the student learning in critical theory? How do professors use
these practices to heal the self/other relationship?
I would like to do surveys, interviews, and classrooms observations in higher education classrooms as part of the data collection.
Originally, I did a philosophical/qualitative study on meditation, yoga, and spiritual definitions in the K-8 classroom for my thesis. In my thesis I defined spirituality in education as the following:
I would like to do surveys, interviews, and classrooms observations in higher education classrooms as part of the data collection.
Originally, I did a philosophical/qualitative study on meditation, yoga, and spiritual definitions in the K-8 classroom for my thesis. In my thesis I defined spirituality in education as the following:
“…spirituality
can be a non-doctrinaire component of education, which can address the
emotional aspects of the child.
Spirituality encompasses being in the present moment, losing oneself in
tasks and projects without attachment to outcome. Students can experience
spiritual aspects of education through nature walks outdoors, periods of
silence indoors, and through ungraded creative projects in the classroom. My assumption is that human beings possess a
spiritual dimension that can exist in harmony with the emotional, intellectual,
and mental capacities. I am referring to
the word spiritual to mean “the holistic development of mind, body, emotions,
and sense of self.”[1]
I also refer to the term ‘whole person’ to demonstrate the importance of
addressing the multi-dimensional nature of human beings—the intellectual, the
emotional, the spiritual, the social, and the physical—in the classroom.”[2]
This time, I hope to ascertain professor’s
definitions of spiritual pedagogy, who teach some form of critical theory as
part of my dissertation study. I already have some professors who are willing to be in my sample when the time comes, which is great. Contemplative education is an emerging field and gathering the
literature has been an exciting process, but there is much missing from it.
I really feel like transnational feminist authors contributed to the field like Cynthia Dillard, yet go unrecognized in the body of contemplative literature.
Hopefully my dissertation will fill in the gaps between the transnational
feminist writing (like Dillard's) and the contemplative studies.
[1]The David Lynch Foundation, Frequently Asked Questions, http://www.davidlynchfoundation.org/frequently-asked-question.html 2007.
[2] Sarah Militz-Frielink, Spirituality and Education: An Inquiry into
Definitions and Practices Taking Shape in Charter Schools (NIU Graduate
Thesis Option B, defended April 2009).
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