- Associate professor in Social Studies at the University of South-Eastern Norway.edit
The paper explores citizenship positions for the Sami as citizen in the overarching policy document for the Norwegian school. Informed by the perspective that policy documents hold discursive productivity in the Foucauldian sense, this... more
The paper explores citizenship positions for the Sami as citizen in the overarching policy document for the Norwegian school. Informed by the perspective that policy documents hold discursive productivity in the Foucauldian sense, this document is regarded as vital for locating normative cultural ideals. The analysis points to three discourses: indigeneity, multiculturalism and the common Norwegian cultural heritage perspective. Although the analysis suggests that there is a variety of possible citizenship identity positions, tensions are located in their ontological and epistemological claims regarding what it means to be Sami. The paper argues that indigenous perspectives might both challenge and complement current ideas of citizenship and human rights education. Notably, indigeneity accentuates the tension between universalism and recognition in human rights education. The paper also points to how the curriculum has great ambitions about the possibilities of inclusive practice within an educational system that lacks sufficient competence on Sami culture.
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The aim of this article is to discuss to what extent and in what ways the Sami people are included in national imaginary in textbooks. The article sheds critical light on important aspects of democracy, inclusion and multi-culturalism in... more
The aim of this article is to discuss to what extent and in what ways the Sami people are included in national imaginary in textbooks. The article sheds critical light on important aspects of democracy, inclusion and multi-culturalism in education through the example of indigenous peoples in Norway. The article also explores what opportunities textbooks provide for promoting anti-oppressive education and pedagogical subjectification. Method: Social studies textbooks for primary school are analyzed based on critical discourse analysis (CDA) and elements from multi-modal analysis. The analysis focuses on the use of vocabulary and pronouns signaling inclusion and exclusion. Specific attention is paid to the hidden curriculum. Findings: The Sami are essentialized and actively constructed as the Other through the structure and content of narratives. This corresponds to the strategy described in anti-oppressive education as education for the Other. Externalization of the Sami from the story of the Norwegian national day and in particular, treatment of the discriminatory Norwegianization politics, reinforce the image of Norwegian exceptionalism. Practical implications: Potential for education that promotes social change and subjectification through disrupting hegemonic discourses are located. Extended knowledge on this implicates further research on the workings of discourse in educational practice.
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This paper argues that approaches embedded in technology optimism hold a hegemonic stance in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Norway. A monolithic focus on technology also leads to a lack of emphasis on the possible... more
This paper argues that approaches embedded in technology optimism hold a hegemonic stance in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Norway. A monolithic focus on technology also leads to a lack of emphasis on the possible contributions of Social Studies. Although sustainable development is commonly understood as having the global goal of “saving the planet,” ESD remains situated within a colonial epistemological regime. In spite of its good intentions, ESD may in fact contribute to the construction and reproduction of differences between “Us” and “Them,” denoting the Global North and South. The aim of this paper is to explore the contributions of decolonial perspectives in providing possible interruptions of the hegemonic narratives, and fostering transformation. The paper exemplifies how current practices of ESD can serve to sustain rather than change the global economic and political systems. It is argued that decolonial perspectives can be tools for disrupting mainstream ESD.
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This article explores some of the challenges encountered when being a white researcher engaged in research that aims at contributing to social justice for marginalized, indigenous and racialized people and perspectives. Drawing upon a... more
This article explores some of the challenges encountered when being a white researcher engaged in research that aims at contributing to social justice for marginalized, indigenous and racialized people and perspectives. Drawing upon a combination of theoretical investigations and practical experiences made during the process of a PhD study, the author offers reflections on what implications taking on a decolonial perspective might have for how a white researcher can possibly approach questions of social and cognitive justice without reinscribing privilege or resorting to self-righteousness. Inspired by Pillow (2015), the author argues that in order to do this, reflexivity need not only be interpretive, but also genealogical, and allow for a “reflexivity of reflexivity”. Furthermore, it is argued that the decolonial stance brings self-reflexivity and ethics together through centring relations as key in accounting for positionality.
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In this study, I explore the coloniality of Norwegian citizenship education, emphasizing knowledge production and discourses in primary school classrooms. I investigate the social justice of knowledge production and explore the... more
In this study, I explore the coloniality of Norwegian citizenship education, emphasizing knowledge production and discourses in primary school classrooms. I investigate the social justice of knowledge production and explore the possibilities, complexities, and risks of critical interruptions to hegemonic epistemological frameworks. The emphasis on coloniality engages analyses of how historical colonialism installed enduring epistemological and material structures that continue to inform our current ways of thinking and being. Coloniality encompass a system where the white majority represents the invisible norm, acting as the bearer of the alleged universal rationality. The significance of coloniality for citizenship education is related both to locating the possible limitations posed by colonial frameworks of knowledge to the potential for fostering critical thinking, and the reproduction of racialization and othering through educational discourses. The purpose of this study is to c...
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Purpose: The aim of this article is to discuss to what extent and in what ways the Sami people are included in national imaginary in textbooks. The article sheds critical light on important aspects of democracy, inclusion and... more
Purpose: The aim of this article is to discuss to what extent and in what ways the Sami people are included in national imaginary in textbooks. The article sheds critical light on important aspects of democracy, inclusion and multi-culturalism in education through the example of indigenous peoples in Norway. The article also explores what opportunities textbooks provide for promoting anti-oppressive education and pedagogical subjectification. Method: Social studies textbooks for primary school are analyzed based on critical discourse analysis (CDA) and elements from multi-modal analysis. The analysis focuses on the use of vocabulary and pronouns signaling inclusion and exclusion. Specific attention is paid to the hidden curriculum. Findings: The Sami are essentialized and actively constructed as the Other through the structure and content of narratives. This corresponds to the strategy described in anti-oppressive education as education for the Other. Externalization of the Sami fro...
Research Interests:
The paper explores citizenship positions for the Sami as citizen in the overarching policy document for the Norwegian school. Informed by the perspective that policy documents hold discursive productivity in the Foucauldian sense, this... more
The paper explores citizenship positions for the Sami as citizen in the overarching policy document for the Norwegian school. Informed by the perspective that policy documents hold discursive productivity in the Foucauldian sense, this document is regarded as vital for locating normative cultural ideals. The analysis points to three discourses: indigeneity, multiculturalism and the common Norwegian cultural heritage perspective. Although the analysis suggests that there is a variety of possible citizenship identity positions, tensions are located in their ontological and epistemological claims regarding what it means to be Sami. The paper argues that indigenous perspectives might both challenge and complement current ideas of citizenship and human rights education. Notably, indigeneity accentuates the tension between universalism and recognition in human rights education. The paper also points to how the curriculum has great ambitions about the possibilities of inclusive practice wi...
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This paper argues that approaches embedded in technology optimism hold a hegemonic stance in Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) in Norway. A monolithic focus on technology also leads to a ...