The Western world has put paradoxical ideology on itself and the cultures that it bogarted. On one hand, we as human beings need to be rooted in concrete geographical places, with close relationships to people around us, in a vivid connection and exchange with our traditions and culture, in order to exist at all. On the other hand, Western ideology pushes us to be flexible in every aspect of our lives, also in order to exist at all (e.g. (academic) workplace, production and consumption of commodities, escaping from war/persecution, teaching and learning in virtual spaces). Additionally, we are confronted with narratives that seduce Western cultures to be as rootless as possible (avoiding taxes, avoiding responsibilities for environmental damages etc.)
During the pre-conference, we explored the narratives of rootedness and flexibility with a special focus on educational theory, philosophy, institutional settings and practices.
Program (14.03.2023):
14-14.30 Arrival, coffee and welcome (Birgit Schaffar, University of Helsinki, president of NSPE)
14.30 – 15.30 Pigga Keskitalo (University of Lapland) – The importance of place and attachment in Samí Education
15.30- 16.00 Coffee-break
16.00-17.00 Ole Andres Kvamme (University of Oslo) – Sustainability in education: What knowledge is of most worth? Ethical and political considerations
18.00 – dinner
Pigga Keskitalo is professor of Education at the University of Lapland, Rovaniemi. In her key-note lecture she will address the importance of place and attachment in Sami Education, and give both a theoretical perspective on these concepts and examples of concrete didactical practices that are used in Sami education. Keskitalo will address problems of communication between Nordic/Western theories and philosophies of education and Sami Education. What theoretical and philosophical-existential concepts are missing in “mainstream” Nordic/Western educational theory and philosophy? What thoughts and practices are a constant challenge to describe and express when writing articles or giving speeches to non-Sami educators and academics?
Ole Andreas Kvamme is associate professor in religious and moral education at Department of Teacher Education and School Research, University of Oslo. In his research, he explores the ethical-political dimension of environmental and sustainability education, including perspectives from critical cosmopolitanism and environmental ethics. He has been particularly interested in the mediations between cosmopolitan values and specific contexts, also rethinking a critical pedagogy of place. In his key-note, he will address the didactical problem that arises when educational practices abstract the content/knowledge from the particular and from its concrete contexts. This might even imply a detachment from the relationships students and teachers are in. Kvamme argues that a central pedagogical and didactic question in the times of crisis we live in is how we can relate to this.