Teaching Unsettlement

Teaching Unsettlement is a digital space that aims to equip educators and community builders with tools that are necessary for confronting settler colonialism in education.

Before you continue, recognize whose land you're on.
https://native-land.ca/

Definitions

Settler Colonialism

Settler colonialism is a unique form of colonialism that has three key features that distinguish it from other types of colonialism:
1. The colonizing power intends to create permanent settlements
2. Settler colonialism is not a singular, disconnected event. It is an intentional, ongoing system
3. The settler state attempts to portray the Indigenous population as non-existent and powerless to further legitimize their claims to the Land

Battell Lowman, Emma, and Adam Barker. “Settler Colonialism.” GLOBAL SOCIAL THEORY (blog). https://globalsocialtheory.org/concepts/settler-colonialism/.

Settler Colonial Education

We define settler colonial education as a conceptual framework. It is when educational institutions subscribe to the three tenets of settler colonialism listed above to empower the settler state, move away from reparations, and negate Indigenous agency.

A few examples of settler colonial education would be:
- Manipulating the History/Social Studies curriculum of a given settler state to portray Indigenous peoples as "uncivilized" or "savage."
- Portraying human rights atrocities as disconnected, historical events that have had no continuous impact to this day.
- Portraying Indigenous representation in curriculum and organization as insignificant because of their disproportionately low population.

If you want in depth, academic examples of this conceptual framework taking place in the status quo, reach out to [email protected]

Syllabus

Follow this link for a free syllabus designed to teach undergraduate students the conceptual framework of settler colonial education.

Google Drive

Freedom Dreaming as a Tool of Resistance

What is Freedom Dreaming?

- Coined by Dr. Robin Kelley"A tool that invites us to create the world we dream of by, first, visualizing the future we want to live in, and, second, determining the actions that will lead us there."- Downtown Brooklyn Arts Management Fellows

Freedom Dreaming as a Decolonial Tool

The ultimate goal of settler colonial education is to solidify and perpetuate the settler hold of the colonized land by producing generations of individuals who observe the world from the point of the settler narrative. A key method of doing so involves delegitimizing Indigenous experiences as "legitimate" knowledge and portraying the goal of decolonization as "impractical" or "unachievable."Freedom dreaming directly combats this by using the stories, knowledges, and lived experiences of individuals to envision a conceivable future. In the context of settler colonial education, freedom dreaming not only values Indigenous systems of knowledge, but also creates a future as a goal to work towards. Freedom dreaming dispels the myth of the unattainable world of justice and manifests its creation.

The Five Principles of Freedom Dreaming

1. Freedom Dreaming means actively uplifting the intricately connected and complex lives and stories of Black, Brown, Indigenous, Asian/Pacific Islander, Latine, SWANA, and Multi-ethnic people
2. Freedom dreaming is about affirming and respecting all levels of ability, gender identity, sexuality, age, stages of healing, and socio-economic class
3. Freedom Dreaming is about connecting people and communities to create shared visions with one another
4. Freedom Dreaming means acknowledging and harnessing your own intrinsic power and expertise
5. Freedom Dreaming is about listening deeply while unlearning harmful ideologies and ideas

- Downtown Brooklyn Arts Management Fellows

Create Your Own Freedom Dream

- Envision a world without racism, transphobia, ableism, classism, etc. How does your work and where you’re at now fit into this?
- What actions will/can you take starting from your current position to actualize your freedom dream?
- Individual experience and stories are used to fuel the end goals that are envisioned through the freedom dream.
- You cannot actualize your goals without envisioning them (You are imagining the story of the future)
- YOUR story grounds the freedom dream into small, manageable pieces.

https://freedomdreaming.commons.gc.cuny.edu/

Acknowledgements

This project would not have been possible without the guidance and support of several people. First and foremost, I would like to thank my family. both immediate and extended. Most notably, I would like to thank Alice, Raffi, and Mari; my sister, father, and mother, respectively. Their endless love, compassion, and guidance pushed me to complete this project. I would also like to thank my ancestors, who give me purpose and remind me who I am doing this work for.I am thankful for the scholars and thinkers who have paved the way for my research, especially Eve Tuck, K. Wayne Yang, Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Bryan McKinley Jones Brayboy, Paulo Freire, Angela Davis, Audre Lorde, and bell hooks.I also extend my utmost gratitude to my professors at Claremont Graduate University who have guided me through this process. Firstly, I would like to thank my advisor, Dr. Torie Weiston-Serdan, who introduced me to the world of meaningful, transformative, community-oriented work. I am also grateful for Dr. Dionne Bensonsmith who helped me regain focus when I felt lost with my research and reminded me how important it is to remain reflexive and intentional. Furthermore, I would like to thank Dr. Linda Perkins for challenging me academically and helping me develop my analytical skills. Lastly, I am extremely thankful for Dr. Deborah Faye Carter who perhaps was the most influential in developing my academic identity. Dr. Carter introduced me to the works of Paulo Freire, who is a great inspiration for my work, and spent a great deal of time guiding me in the right direction with my research.I am also grateful for two Graduate Teaching Assistants from Claremont Graduate University: elita laya and Jenelle Nila. Both of these individuals were among the most impactful in the development of my research, academic identity, and academic purpose. Additionally, they consistently held me accountable and held me to a high standard of learning and reflexivity.Lastly, I would like to thank Raylene Luna and Montana Kimel. I genuinely could not have asked for better people to have studied alongside. Raylene and Montana have been with me since the beginning of the M.A. program at Claremont Graduate University. While there are a lot of my classmates that I would like to thank, Raylene and Montana have truly been foundational in my graduate school experience. Their wisdom, compassion, and constant willingness to help were instrumental in the completion of this project.

The Team

Levon Ghanimian (he/him) is an Armenian who has grown up on Tataviam land (San Fernando Valley). He is a social studies teacher at a private Armenian school in Los Angeles. His interests in settler colonial education began when he drew connections between the experiences of Indigenous Americans and Armenians as settled communities during his undergraduate career at California State University, Northridge. Levon received his MA in Community Engaged Education and Social Change from Claremont Graduate University. Levon's ultimate goal in his professional and academic endeavors is to disrupt colonial spaces, paving way for reparations and building solidarity between Armenians and other marginalized communities.

Contact

If you have any questions or would like to discuss any of the material here, please reach out to [email protected]

Teaching Unsettlement

Definitions

Syllabus

Recommended Readings

Freedom Dreaming as a Tool of Resistance

Acknowledgements