Disruption as Reconciliation: Lessons Learned When Students as Partners Become Students as Teachers

Abstract

The students-as-partners approach challenges both students and faculty to eschew traditional roles and engage in practices of partnership thus disrupting hierarchy and the dominance of the faculty voice. The approach can be applied to a variety of areas from curriculum design to program planning in any discipline, including International Relations. In this chapter, written as a conversation between the two of us, we begin by situating ourselves as an ‘administrator/faculty’ settler (Heather) and ‘student; and Indigenous woman (Yahlnaaw). After introducing the students-as-partners model which informs our collaborative work, we turn to an example of the power of this model in action in the context of programming an Indigenous speakers’ series and we take turns telling our story from our own perspectives. Through the story we highlight the importance of creating spaces and opportunities for ‘disruption’ and we show how settlers must be willing to have their unconscious biases disrupted. Our story upsets constructions of students as ‘disruptive’ and highlights how faculty and administrators can either act to resist and silence student voices and engage in practices that allow them to be allies in disruption. Our story is one of everyday practice and our insights can be applied to any International Relations classroom.