Influences and Inspirations in Curriculum Studies Research and Teaching

A circle of gratitude permeates this extraordinary book. I am reminded of skipping stones on a still lake. We move from one career project or setting to another on a trajectory, and along the way, circles upon circles, ripple and intersect, each influencing the other, until eventually the lake becomes still again. Every chapter is a new skipping stone event as we experience the author's circle of mentors influencing their scholarship, artistry, and pedagogies. The gifts continue as we begin to recognize repeated names across the chapters. Individuals who have inspired so many across their lives and even beyond their lives. While we may not always recognize these circles of influence, they remain within us. This book is full of grace and wisdom, appreciation and admiration. We are called to listen sincerely, to feel the affection shared among those who love ideas and enacting those ideas. Readers will be inspired! This is a sparkling gem of a book for all curriculum scholars. - Rita L. Irwin, Distinguished University Scholar, Professor of Art Education, The University of British Columbia This collection is like that rare vinyl jazz album that true collectors are hoping to be gifted while accidently passing through that weekend garage sale. Each narrative track is juxtaposed, and carefully curated, yet counterpointed, for newcomers, old friends, extended family members, and the longstanding fans of the field we call curriculum studies. Readers are invited to reconsider their and others' lived experiences in relation to unsettling and inspiring re-searched stories of affect, care, grace, gratitude, harm, hurt, intellectual passions, silences, and so much more. Every curriculum studies bookshelf should embrace this eclectic collection that both celebrates and troubles histories and contemporary curriculum inquiries and their respective influences. - Nicholas Ng-A-Fook, Professor of Curriculum Studies, University of Ottawa. This book is a generous gift of hope, a call to graciously recognize our academic genealogy, a space to honour those who offer gifts. Reading this book reminds me how gratitude arises from recognizing the presence of the gifts bestowed upon us, the privileges we partake in, and the people we've had the pleasure of learning with and from. When we reflect upon those who have shaped our lives, we are affirmed, knowing that we are part of a loving, connected community whether our inspiritors know of our gratitude or not. It is our own appreciation of the other that produces hope, honour, grace and joy. We are the generators of love through our own thankfulness. This book is a reminder of how our individual quotidian lives have the possibility of affecting others and thus to daily choose loving alignment between our personal and professional lives. Attending to our own particulars, the details of our personal learnings, is the curriculum project of our lives. This book offers a generative and loving approach to how we might rather position ourselves with others-in systems of separation-in thankful ways for as we lift one another, we lift ourselves collectively. Thank you to the editors for curating this deeply observant collection, a must-read for anyone embarking on a curriculum journey. - Pauline Sameshima, Professor of Curriculum Studies, Canada Research Chair in Arts Integrated Studies (2012-2022) and College Member of the Royal Society of Canada (2020-2027), Lakehead University. A circle of gratitude permeates this extraordinary book. I am reminded of skipping stones on a still lake. We move from one career project or setting to another on a trajectory, and along the way, circles upon circles, ripple and intersect, each influencing the other, until eventually the lake becomes still again. Every chapter is a new skipping stone event as we experience the author's circle of mentors influencing their scholarship, artistry, and pedagogies. The gifts continue as we begin to recognize repeated names across the chapters. Individuals who have inspired so many across their lives and even beyond their lives. While we may not always recognize these circles of influence, they remain within us. This book is full of grace and wisdom, appreciation and admiration. We are called to listen sincerely, to feel the affection shared among those who love ideas and enacting those ideas. Readers will be inspired! This is a sparkling gem of a book for all curriculum scholars. - Rita L. Irwin, Distinguished University Scholar, Professor of Art Education, The University of British Columbia This collection is like that rare vinyl jazz album that true collectors are hoping to be gifted while accidently passing through that weekend garage sale. Each narrative track is juxtaposed, and carefully curated, yet counterpointed, for newcomers, old friends, extended family members, and the longstanding fans of the field we call curriculum studies. Readers are invited to reconsider their and others' lived experiences in relation to unsettling and inspiring re-searched stories of affect, care, grace, gratitude, harm, hurt, intellectual passions, silences, and so much more. Every curriculum studies bookshelf should embrace this eclectic collection that both celebrates and troubles histories and contemporary curriculum inquiries and their respective influences. - Nicholas Ng-A-Fook, Professor of Curriculum Studies, University of Ottawa. This book is a generous gift of hope, a call to graciously recognize our academic genealogy, a space to honour those who offer gifts. Reading this book reminds me how gratitude arises from recognizing the presence of the gifts bestowed upon us, the privileges we partake in, and the people we've had the pleasure of learning with and from. When we reflect upon those who have shaped our lives, we are affirmed, knowing that we are part of a loving, connected community whether our inspiritors know of our gratitude or not. It is our own appreciation of the other that produces hope, honour, grace and joy. We are the generators of love through our own thankfulness. This book is a reminder of how our individual quotidian lives have the possibility of affecting others and thus to daily choose loving alignment between our personal and professional lives. Attending to our own particulars, the details of our personal learnings, is the curriculum project of our lives. This book offers a generative and loving approach to how we might rather position ourselves with others-in systems of separation-in thankful ways for as we lift one another, we lift ourselves collectively. Thank you to the editors for curating this deeply observant collection, a must-read for anyone embarking on a curriculum journey. - Pauline Sameshima, Professor of Curriculum Studies, Canada Research Chair in Arts Integrated Studies (2012-2022) and College Member of the Royal Society of Canada (2020-2027), Lakehead University.