Narrative(s) of crisis: (de)internalized ‘isms’ in outdoor education. Deconstructing ‘taken-for-granted’ assumptions in language to go beyond binary oppositions in outdoor education to allow for new possibilities in exploring how perceptions perform in shared positions of power and co-facilitation

North, Chelsea (2022) Narrative(s) of crisis: (de)internalized ‘isms’ in outdoor education. Deconstructing ‘taken-for-granted’ assumptions in language to go beyond binary oppositions in outdoor education to allow for new possibilities in exploring how perceptions perform in shared positions of power and co-facilitation. Masters dissertation, University of Cumbria. Item availability may be restricted.

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Abstract

In this article I think through a process of identifying how the language we use in outdoor education is a limiting factor in facilitating programs that make it possible to move beyond stereotypes and prejudices. Through a poststructural post-qualitative feminist framework and em-bodied analysis through reflexive writing as inquiry, I think with theories of deconstruction, intersectionality, power, coloniality and language. With thinking and writing I explore possibilities to move beyond the binary oppositions to know more how the inherited language in western discourse becomes internalized and then presents in situations of shared power with/in outdoor education. Through a process of reflexive deconstruction, it is possible to share positions of co-facilitation in outdoor education through understanding: binary oppositions, inherited narratives, relations of power and how to identify assumptions and biases and challenge, disrupt and eradicate them. This article is concerned with developing curiosity, humility and solidarity as an approach to identifying the gaps in language and disrupting oppressive structures and working towards a space of transformative justice. To situate this article, it has evolved from my own experience as a white, able-bodied woman, who is in constant battle with internalized demons of inferiority as I find space within outdoor education in the context of America and England. The [re]search aims to offer another experience, narrative and perspective in how to navigate and identify insecurities in outdoor education and develop ways to engage with creative possibilities to move beyond limitations imposed by society and self.

Item Type:	Thesis/Dissertation (Masters)
Departments:	Institute of Science and Environment > Outdoor Studies
Depositing User:	Heather Prince
Date Deposited:	03 Nov 2022 11:01
Last Modified:	13 Jan 2024 14:00
URI:	https://insight.cumbria.ac.uk/id/eprint/6659