How can we help university students make connections between ‘academic knowledge’, and their roles as members of local and global communities? How do we create a forum for students to engage in issues of social and ecological justice through critical thought, moral commitment and meaningful engagement in their learning and coming to know as global citizens? We are an interdisciplinary group of researchers and instructors who have collaboratively developed, and are now co-teaching an international, interactive, fully online university course: Introduction to Global Citizenship, available to students at five universities around the world. Our course combines academic rigour with personal reflection and group discussion. It provides students with a broad understanding of barriers and bridges to global citizenship, brings greater awareness of key global issues, and encourages individual and collective action and accountability on issues of sustainability and social justice. Pilot delivery of our course in 2005-2006 suggests that it offers students an extremely challenging, thought-provoking, international educational experience, as we learn about and discuss global issues together. In this working session, we hope describe our experiences with this course project, and to facilitate a productive dialogue with colleagues around teaching strategies for transformative learning in higher education. What ‘kinds’ of transformative learning are we seeking and how can we recognize it? Which instructional strategies facilitate deeper critical analysis and personal reflection? What roles might technology and interdisciplinarity play in this undertaking? Which investigative approaches might help us move our institutions beyond lipservice to global education?

Combining historical and ethnographic approaches, this thesis explores the relationship between marginality and the Canadian state's organization of national belonging through the technologies of immigration, settlement and citizenship. In the process it reveals how the lives of people who navigate this institution of becoming Canadian from or into marginalized social positions are shaped in complex ways by the relations of ruling underpinning the nation as a whole, such as colonialism, capitalism, and patriarchy. Data-gathering and analysis proceeded from the standpoint of people whose religion, sexuality, "race", gender, or class positioned them in the margins of a textually mediated and hierarchical policy matrix that justified either their outright exclusion or else inclusion on certain conditions. The impact of this arrangement is queried and we find that, while the fact of being Canadian often leads to improvement in life quality, this is in addition to—or even in spite of—the institutional process of becoming Canadian. The institutional process, by contrast, was found to cause things like downgrading, separation, fear, and changed beliefs and behaviours. The study also examined how people deal with this system, including the purposeful acquisition of knowledge or skills, and reliance on support networks among family, friends, and fellow migrants. Finally, some strategies of mitigation (e.g. rule-breaking) are explored. The study concludes by contrasting the institution of becoming Canadian against a universalist philosophy premised on "global citizenship" and the possibility of a world without borders. Unsurprisingly, there is considerable distance between them, but this contrast reveals inspiring areas for resistance, action and change.

Combining historical and ethnographic approaches, this thesis explores the relationship between marginality and the Canadian state's organization of national belonging through the technologies of immigration, settlement and citizenship. In the process it reveals how the lives of people who navigate this institution of becoming Canadian from or into marginalized social positions are shaped in complex ways by the relations of ruling underpinning the nation as a whole, such as colonialism, capitalism, and patriarchy. Data-gathering and analysis proceeded from the standpoint of people whose religion, sexuality, "race", gender, or class positioned them in the margins of a textually mediated and hierarchical policy matrix that justified either their outright exclusion or else inclusion on certain conditions. The impact of this arrangement is queried and we find that, while the fact of being Canadian often leads to improvement in life quality, this is in addition to—or even in spite of—the institutional process of becoming Canadian. The institutional process, by contrast, was found to cause things like downgrading, separation, fear, and changed beliefs and behaviours. The study also examined how people deal with this system, including the purposeful acquisition of knowledge or skills, and reliance on support networks among family, friends, and fellow migrants. Finally, some strategies of mitigation (e.g. rule-breaking) are explored. The study concludes by contrasting the institution of becoming Canadian against a universalist philosophy premised on "global citizenship" and the possibility of a world without borders. Unsurprisingly, there is considerable distance between them, but this contrast reveals inspiring areas for resistance, action and change.

No description available.

This paper looks at the topic of immigration from a philosophical standpoint and concludes that an open border policy is morally obligatory. I first argue that immigration cannot act as a corrective to the problems of global poverty as many philosophers have suggested. I then look at two common defenses for restrictive borders, one resting on the cultural community and one on the political community, and conclude that these two defenses are inadequate. The fact that a restrictive policy is morally unjustifiable coupled with my argument that people ought to be able to enjoy a freedom of movement suggests that an open border policy is necessary.

The increasing globalization of information, culture, and knowledge problematizes traditional notions of citizenship. These contemporary notions of citizenship emphasize the growing subjective and individualistic nature of civic identity as well as a push towards engagement at a community rather than the political level. The shift in the concept of citizenship, from what it means to what one does, implies that while globalization is expanding private and public worlds outwardly, the individual person is looking closer to home for ways to engage and relate through their own personal lives and stories. Citizenship is no longer confined to the adult realm of politics and policy, it has evolved into a concept that has potential to include rather than exclude, and strengthen nationalism, community identities, and global presence. Often thought of as merely “citizens in the making”, children are excluded from civic or political engagement until they are of legal age. This study aimed to show that children do view themselves as citizens and understand their role in the community as a means for civic engagement. Through the use of narrative inquiry and arts-informed methods this research focused on children’s own perception of civic identity and the potential role that community engagement has on this identity development. The use of storytelling and painting/drawing allows children to express themselves in a more inclusive and holistic manner, which also allows them to communicate more concisely what they really think and feel. The key findings of this study were that children do identify as citizens through their individual notions (I-identities) or the small groups they are a part of in their immediate community (We’s-identities), and that they recognize this citizenship through membership and responsibility. These findings are significant because they imply that children do see themselves as citizens and that their civic identities go through a growth process from individual (I-identities), to small groups (We’s-identities), to the larger society as a whole (We-identities), and that is through community engagement and education that membership and responsibility is recognized. This research could be used to enhance child and youth programming, educational curriculum, and community projects to order increase skill development and engagement in relation to how children move through and comprehend these civic identity stages. / Graduate

No description available.

Thesis (Ph. D)--UCLA, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 313-341).

Thesis (Ph.D.) - Carleton University, 2003. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 183-198). Also available in electronic format on the Internet.

Thesis PlanB (M.S.)--University of Wisconsin--Stout, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references.