Corvallis Science Pub presents:

This project explores mindfulness as innovative curriculum in undergraduates social justice courses. Critical race feminism claims that body and spirituality are core sources of knowledge. Mindfulness offers practices for connecting to the present moment through body, emotions, physical sensations, and spirituality.

The research question is: How does mindfulness help students learn multiculturalism from critical race feminist approaches? Data from 200 undergraduates in a social justice course includes weekly reflections, analytic memos, midterm evaluations, and social action plans. We used qualitative methods: (1) Phase One: Pilot - grounded theory (Charmaz, 2014) for logically consistent set of inductive themes . (2) Phase Two: Transformed Curriculum - Counter story methodologies to highlight the mindfulness stories of marginalized students.

Learners were empowered to handle activated emotions and self-reflection that come with the work of social justice and liberation. Counter stories (Delgado, 1989) described narratives of personal experience, authoring their stories to counter majoritarian tales of whiteness, analytical distance, and passivity or fragility.

This approach offers ten curricular modules and empirical research. This could prompt curricular changes in undergraduate education and social justice courses to enhance wellbeing and promote social justice.

Presenter:
Kathryn McIntosh
Associate Professor
ESOL/DLI and Language Equity in Education
College of Education

Science Pub is sponsored by the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry, the Old World Deli and Oregon State University.