Teaching about Complicity: Reflecting on Creativity, Critical Thinking and Social Change

This webinar took place on April 1st, 2022

“We have to think with nuance, and unfortunately public discourse rarely allows for nuance. And see where that has gotten us.”
Roxane Gay; from an interview with Aida Edemariam, The Guardian, 27 Dec. 2018

Classroom discussions about privilege and disadvantage are difficult. Harms can be done, traumas triggered, and mistakes made that can leave an impression – valid or not – that unjust power structures are being reproduced in the classroom. The goal of this webinar is to work through the complexities present when an educator stumbles into the polarizing social issues of today. Do intentions matter? How can creativity, critical thinking and social change be integrated into the classroom to minimize the potential for harm, while deepening the learning taking place? And when mistakes are made, what can we learn from nonviolent and reparative approaches to righting wrongs?

On April 1st 2022 we had an opportunity to discuss these and many other questions presented by our presenters Pat Romano and Kim Simard. They have worked together on several educational initiatives, including the Resist Violence pedagogical development project. They currently have a 2-year ECQ Grant to further develop this educational approach into a college-wide initiative, the Creative Collective for Change, that seeks to create inclusive spaces for conversation and action on polarizing social issues.