And here’s where my current position (which requires research on belonging and possibly design of belonging initiatives) meets my research (hello ungrading, emancipatory pedagogies, ethics of care in design, etc.).
I’m starting a series to communicate a little more broadly what I’ve learned about belonging for the last six months. And to “think out loud” about a few possible connections with belonging that I’ve been contemplating.
So here’s what the series looks like (at least as it’s planned out in my Notes app):
Belonging Part 1: What is it and why is it important? I always like to start with a mutual understanding of what we’re talking about when I say the word belonging. As with the construct of creativity, this is easier said than done. But we’ll try anyway.
Belonging Part 1.5: Cognitive Biases (the invisible threats to belonging): Did I make cognitive biases its own blog? Yes. Did I have a choice? Not really. (I have A LOT to say about this topic apparently)
Belonging Part 2: Belonging and Information Abundance How does our understanding of belonging evolve when we add in the information abundance of the internet (yes, I got this concept of information abundance from Dave (Cormier) – yes, you should check out his blog here and his book here)? How do we experience digital belonging vs. F2F belonging? And how do we prioritize one over the other?
Belonging Part 3: Belonging, Not belonging, and grief There’s belonging, which we’ve all experienced. There’s not belonging, which, again, we’ve all experienced. There’s belonging uncertainty, which “refers to the state of mind in which one suffers from doubts about whether one is fully accepted in a particular environment or ever could be” (Cohen, 2022, p. 29). And then there’s the grief that comes with not belonging and belonging uncertainty. Do we need to discuss all of that? Yes. Will I be asking my sister, the expert in reframing grief through positive psychology and specifically psychological capital, to cowrite this with me? Also yes.
Belonging Part 3.5: Online vs. F2F (IRL) belonging Did I take an extra blog to discuss artificial intimacy and counterfeit connection? Um. Yes, yes I did. No regrets. Both are mind-bending concepts detailing our collective failure to run at human speed, not some crazy AI speed. So, I took an extra minute to discuss it.
Belonging Part 4.0: Belonging and Emancipatory Pedagogies (Part 1) Overall Considerations for Part 4: How do emancipatory pedagogies work to lessen the us vs. them dynamic embedded within modern education systems? Where do emancipatory pedagogies amplify belonging most effectively? Where do emancipatory pedagogies create friction with belonging and how can that friction be alleviated? How do emancipatory pedagogies elevate voices that have typically been oppressed through embracing trust, community, and, of course, belonging?
I had to split this into two parts because just defining emancipatory pedagogies took an entire part (Part 1). It’s long enough. Believe me.
Belonging Part 4.5: Belonging and Emancipatory Pedagogies (Part 2) In Part 2, we try to connect emancipatory pedagogies to belonging by delineating how belonging fits into the common themes that span emancipatory pedagogies. Operative word here? TRY.
Belonging Part 4.75: Belonging and Intersectionality Yeah, I was ambitious. I have my moments. I thought I could put all three of these blogs into one blog, which seems laughable now, but in my defense, I’ve been writing educational research papers nonstop while doing this series, so…7000 ish words later?!?!?
This is the part that we try to observe belonging through the intersectional lenses proposed by Patricia Hill Collins and Sirma Bilge (2020, 2nd edition) in their foundational and brilliant book Intersectionality. This may also be ambitious, as the chapter my friend Sushilla and I wrote this past year exploring post-COVID 19 pedagogy in STEM through the lenses of intersectionality was…a chapter long. But we’ll try.
Belonging Part 5: Belonging and Design How can we frame meeting space and classroom spaces to maximize perceptions of belonging? How do these design frames we use align belonging with our values, and how do we carry that alignment forward in our work? Since I am assuming that designing for belonging is semi-context dependent, what kinds of exercises or activities can we do to determine the values and embedded perceptions of belonging within a group?
[NOTE: The titles of the blog posts in this series will be linked to the actual blog posts once those blog posts are…um…written]
Featured picture: “holding hands” by annstheclaf is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0
