This volume explores mindfulness and other contemplative approaches as strategic tools for cultivating anti-oppressive pedagogies in higher education. Research confirms that simply providing students with evidence and narratives of economic, social, and environmental injustices proves insufficient in developing awareness and eliciting responses of…

This case study explores the experiences of nine female-identifying feminist public educators working with Ontario, Canada, sexual assault centres who regularly facilitate discussions about sexual consent and gender-based sexual violence in schools, post-secondary institutions, and community workshops. The educators discuss their experiences of…

Mr. Williams, a student during segregation and educator who began his career in the years following the 1954 "Brown v. Board of Education" decision, sheds light on why Black students succeeded in all-Black schools as well as challenges faced in advancing racial justice. In his context, according to Mr. Williams, Black students succeeded…

In this paper I call for an emotional confrontation with our traumatic, racist, and often unacknowledged history. I share ideas, experiences, and pedagogical strategies with which to engage difficult dialogue about difficult knowledge, in such a way as to disarm defense and, potentially inspire anti-racist activism in education and beyond. The…

This article reports on a recent study into volunteers' experiences learning from the "Walking With Our Sisters" (WWOS) commemorative exhibit to honour Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. The study is grounded in Battiste's (2013) possibilities of educational transformations, within the context of learning from Indigenous…

As emotions research in the field of second language acquisition continues to evolve, it is equally important to explore the impact of social--emotional variables that are specifically relevant to heritage language (HL) contexts. Anchoring on foundations in critical heritage language education (HLE), this study examines the discomforts of the HL…

The Phoenix Players Theatre Group was founded by incarcerated theatre artists located in a maximum-security prison with the aim of creating a space where they can be witnessed in order to initiate a process of personal, cultural, and sociopolitical transformation. This article integrates research from trauma theory with theatre and social justice…

This article explores initial thinking about a pedagogy of discomfort for teaching in the context of cultural and linguistic diversity. To foster inclusive and socially just cultures of participation, contemporary classrooms need to attend to the subtle ways that taken-for-granted teaching practices marginalise diverse cultural and linguistic…

Scholars and practitioners alike often assume that discomfort is a necessary and productive aspect of the college experience. We used a range of theories grounded in the concept of dissonance to question these assumptions and critically analyze the role of discomfort in collegiate learning and development for today's diverse college student…

Speaking out against decades of injustice and challenging deficit perceptions of young learners and their families, "It's Not About Grit" pulls back the veil, revealing the social systems that marginalize and stigmatize mostly poor, urban students of color and their communities. At the same time, author Steven Goodman, founding executive…