Table Of Content“True to the central understandings of critical pedagogy as conceived by
Freire, Darder, Steinberg, and Giroux, among others, this collection of truly
engaging essays, moves from a critical analysis of contemporary educational
problematiques to meaningful possibilities of change with hope. The new
generation of critical pedagogues represented here, focus on pain, suffering
and trauma, and yet, skilfully and subversively construct a pedagogy based
on a counter-narrative – one that is so much needed in present neoliberal,
fatalist, and pandemic times. The emotive, rational, and poetic are very posi-
tively intertwined to offer a strong and courageous voice to a renewed form
of critical pedagogy.”
– John P. Portelli, PhD, Professor Emeritus,
Ontario Institute for Studies in Education,
University of Toronto
“Weaved throughout Counternarratives of Pain and Suffering as Critical
Pedagogy are powerful stories of triumph that disrupt discursive practices
in educational contexts. The book amplifies the voices of Black, Indigenous,
and People of Colour (BIPOC) and offers analyses of lived experiences nego-
tiating identities, resisting oppression, and confronting stereotypes. Readers
are invited to break through the cycle of silence and consider who benefits
when dominant ideologies are not challenged. Connected to current social
landscapes, the book offers a pedagogical framework of hope, possibilities,
and resiliency to achieve transformational change and affirms the need for
diversity, equity, and inclusion in academic spaces.”
– Gaëtane Jean-Marie, PhD, Dean and
Professor of Educational Leadership, College
of Education, Rowan University
“Eizadirad, Campbell, and Sider offer a timely and necessary salve to histori-
cal and ongoing wounds of pain, trauma, and suffering. Their book reveals
confessions as truth-telling that narrate emotional, physical, and spiritual
injuries inflicted by oppression as well as individual and collective acts of
resistance, resilience, care, and compassion. Each chapter unfolds counter-
narratives that are difficult to read, yet we need to bear their lessons to not
only survive but also thrive. For our well-being and critical solidarity, this
book is a compelling read in these challenging times!”
– Roland Sintos Coloma, PhD, Professor,
Division of Teacher Education,
Wayne State University
“This volume provides a rare opportunity to reflect on one’s narrative of
pain and suffering from a theoretical standpoint. As the editor’s state: ‘We
encourage you to reflect on your own life and experiences to begin construc-
tively engaging with your own pain, suffering, and trauma.’ Each chapter is
unique and has a specific message for the reader. No one reading this book
can escape the importance of interrogating the institutional, structural, and
societal visible and invisible ways that inflict pain and suffering. The chap-
ters interweave complex and systemic ways that pain finds spaces and bodies
to manifest itself and re-appear in different forms in the life of individuals.
This is the first time I have a read a book that articulates engaging with pain,
suffering, and trauma so well and constructively. This unique book is a must
read for all of us!”
– Njoki Wane, PhD, Professor and Chair of
Social Justice Education Department, Ontario
Institute for Studies in Education,
University of Toronto
Counternarratives of Pain and Suffering
as Critical Pedagogy
Foregrounding diverse lived experiences and non-dominant forms of knowledge,
this edited volume showcases ways in which narrating and sharing stories of pain
and suffering can be engaged as critical pedagogy to challenge oppression and
inequity in educational contexts.
The volume illustrates the need to consider both the act of narrating and the
experience of bearing witness to narration to harness the full transformative
potentials of counternarratives in disrupting oppressive practices. Chapters
are divided into three parts – “Telling and Reliving Trauma as Pedagogy,”
“Pedagogies of Overcoming Silence,” and “Forgetting as Pedagogy” – illustrating
a range of relational pedagogical and methodological approaches, including
journaling, poetry, and arts-based narrative inquiry.
The authors make the argument that the language of pain and suffering
is universal, hence its potential as critical pedagogy for transformative and
therapeutic teaching and learning. Readers are encouraged to reflect on their own
lived experiences to constructively engage with their pain, suffering, and trauma.
Focusing on trauma-informed non-hegemonic storytelling and transformative
pedagogies, this volume will be of interest to students, faculty, scholars, and
community members with an interest in advancing anti-oppressive and social
justice education.
Ardavan Eizadirad is Assistant Professor in the Faculty of Education at Wilfrid
Laurier University and an instructor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in
Education at the University of Toronto, Canada. He is also the founder and
director of EDIcation Consulting (www. edication .org) offering equity, diversity,
and inclusion training to organizations.
Andrew B. Campbell is Adjunct Assistant Professor at Queen’s University in the
Professional Master of Education Program and a faculty member at the Ontario
Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto, Canada. He
has taught at all levels of the education system for the last 25 years in Jamaica,
Bahamas, and Canada, and is also known as Dr. ABC (https://drabc .ca/).
Steve Sider is a Professor in the Faculty of Education at Wilfrid Laurier University,
Canada. He is the past president of the Comparative and International Education
Society of Canada and the current director of the Centre for Leading Research in
Education at Wilfrid Laurier.
Routledge Research in Educational Equality and Diversity
Books in the series include:
The Hidden Academic Curriculum and Inequality in Early Education
How Class, Race, Teacher Interactions, and Friendship Influence Student
Success
Karen Phelan Kozlowski
Applying Anzalduan Frameworks to Understand Transnational Youth
Identities
Bridging Culture, Language, and Schooling at the US-Mexican Border
Edited by G. Sue Kasun and Irasema Mora-Pablo
Advancing Educational Equity for Students of Mexican Descent
Creating an Asset-based Bicultural Continuum Model
Edited by Andrea Romero and Iliana Reyes
The Lived Experiences of Filipinx American Teachers in the U.S.
A Hermeneutic Phenomenological Study
Eleonor G. Castillo
Multiculturalism, Educational Inclusion, and Connectedness
Wellbeing, Ethnicity, and Identity among Chinese, South, and Southeast
Asian Students
Celeste Yuen
Counternarratives of Pain and Suffering as Critical Pedagogy
Disrupting Oppression in Educational Contexts
Edited by Ardavan Eizadirad, Andrew B. Campbell, and Steve Sider
Global Perspectives on Microaggressions in Higher Education
Understanding and Combating Covert Violence in Universities
Edited by Christine L. Cho and Julie K. Corkett
For more information about this series, please visit: www. routledge .com
/Routledge -Research -in -Educational -Equality -and -Diversity /book -series /
RREED
Counternarratives of Pain and
Suffering as Critical Pedagogy
Disrupting Oppression in Educational
Contexts
Ardavan Eizadirad, Andrew B. Campbell,
and Steve Sider
First published 2023
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 selection and editorial matter, Ardavan Eizadirad, Andrew
B. Campbell, and Steve Sider; individual chapters, the contributors
The right of Ardavan Eizadirad, Andrew B. Campbell, and Steve
Sider to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and
of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in
accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and
Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and
explanation without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
A catalog record for this title has been requested
ISBN: 9781032070858 (hbk)
ISBN: 9781032070889 (pbk)
ISBN: 9781003205296 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003205296
Typeset in Sabon
by Deanta Global Publishing Services, Chennai, India
I dedicate this book to my ancestors, family, friends, colleagues, life-partner
Ciara, and haters who have driven me to constantly grow and explore my rela-
tions to the land and people from all walks of life. Particularly, I am grateful
to everyone who has helped me embrace my emotions and spirituality to cope
with trauma and negative events more constructively. Those caring relation-
ships facilitated healing to become an intentional disruptor as a form of activ-
ism to stand up to injustice. I further dedicate this book to all the families torn
by war, parents who had to bury their children, and all the hoods around the
world who feel neglected and silenced as a community. Institutions, including
schools, need to do better and listen to the stories of pain and suffering shared
by identities from equity-deserving groups. Let us indulge in our emotions,
trauma, wounds, and scars, and harness energy from the pain and passion to
mobilize for systemic change and make new friends along the way.
Ardavan Eizadirad
Throughout writing this book one thing that resonated with me is the idea
of relationships – not just how we begin them, but how we nurture and
sustain them. In a world where we can easily get distracted by “stuff,” I am
happy to know I have caring relationships. I wish to stop and acknowledge
those people who have been in authentic relationships with me, especially in
the last three years where I navigated challenging relationships more than
ever to ensure my personal well-being, professional growth, and community
connections. I started to list names and had to delete them. I would have
needed more lines than this book would afford me. In that moment, at 7:13
am on September 30, 2021, I stopped, breathed, wiped away a tear, and
smiled knowing in all the things I have, I do have caring relationships. For
those who have been in relationships with me, you know yourself, you know
your name would have been listed here, and you have heard my voice saying
thanks multiple times. Again, I say thanks!
Andrew B. Campbell
I am learning. I want to acknowledge those who have helped me learn through
my life journey: my grandfather, grade 6 teacher, and a grade 10 student who
taught me an important lesson about privilege and perspective, amongst many
others. I am continuing to learn and I want to thank Ardavan and Andrew, the
co-editors of this book, for serving as guides in this learning process.
Steve Sider
Contents
Foreword xi
Contributors xiii
1 Centring Pedagogies of Pain and Suffering by Embracing Our
Wounds and Scars 1
ARDAVAN EIZADIRAD, ANDREW B. CAMPBELL, AND STEVE SIDER
PART 1
Telling and Reliving Trauma as Pedagogy 15
2 Cultivating Brave Spaces to Take Risks to Challenge Systemic
Oppression 19
ANDREW B. CAMPBELL AND ARDAVAN EIZADIRAD
3 Moving from Oppression to Opportunity: Bringing Light to
Educational and Historical Contexts in Critical Pedagogy 38
ALLYSON L. WATSON, AMEENAH SHAKIR, SUNDRA D. KINCEY,
REGINALD K. ELLIS, AND DARIUS J. YOUNG
4 Storying Vulnerability: Creating Conditions for Generative
Relationality in International Experiential Service Learning 52
JESSICA VORSTERMANS
PART 2
Pedagogies of Overcoming Silence 67
5 Co-Composing Poetic and Arts-Based Narratives:
Un-Silencing and Honouring Our Voices as Women Academics 71
ANITA LAFFERTY AND JULIE A. MOONEY
