Emergent Encounters Action Project

Emergent Encounters Action Project

Research Team

Craig Fortier, Social Development Studies

Matt Borland, Systems Design Engineering

(Project timeline: May 2022 - April 2023)

Project Summary

  • The Emergent Encounters Action Project is a cross-disciplinary collaborative initiative that seeks to create potentialities for social change through activity-centered conversations and discussions on social issues between students, staff, and faculty at the University of Waterloo.
  • This project seeks to re-imagine cross-disciplinary pedagogy outside of the confines of traditional course work.

Areas Investigated

  • To create educational encounters on University of Waterloo campus where students and faculty from various academic backgrounds can discuss, plan, and act on issues of equity, diversity, inclusion, anti-racism, and social justice in a supportive and collaborative environment. 
  • To create educational opportunities for social connection within the emerging asocial and isolated environment on university campuses - exacerbated since COVID-19 by increased e-learning, commuter students and faculty, and heightened political tensions. 
  • To facilitate a space for creative interdisciplinary collaborations that tackle important social issues outside of typical academic silos.
  • To study whether active engagement and collaboration on small-scale projects can help encourage greater social interactions across disciplines and transform campus cultures. 

Findings

  • There is a strong need/desire for opportunities to break isolation on campus and engage in important conversations about equity, diversity, inclusion, anti-racism, and social justice beyond debate or public lectures.
  • Creating a space where participants from staff, faculty, and student bodies work together in a decentralized space creates opportunities to build trust, relationships, and seed possibilities for future collaborations.
  • Using hands-on activities (i.e. cross-stitching, gardening, music creation, systems analysis, etc.) as the focal point of each session allows us to take a “side door” rather than “front door” approach to bridging conversations between engineering, math, health studies, social work, liberal arts, and various other forms of academic knowledge that at times creates impasses for collaboration.
  • Drawing on our relationships to social justice organizers, artists, Indigenous Elders, and scientists in the broader community facilitates a form of connection and inspiration that opens participants up to new ways of thinking/dreaming/acting.

Dissemination and impact

  • During the course of the 5 EEAP sessions, we welcomed close to 70 students and recent graduates of UW, 6 faculty members, 4 staff, and a number of alumni into our project.
  • Results and findings have been discussed with the Chair of SYDE, and other engineering colleagues. They have also been disseminated with the Chair of Social Development Studies, and other colleagues, as well.
  • Various presentations: (Slideshow PDF)
    • Presented a workshop at the UW Teaching and Learning Conference 2023
    • Invited to present at the 2024 edition of the conference as well.
    • Invited to do a keynote for the 2024 Combining Two Cultures Conference at UW.
    • Canadian Design Workshop
    • Canadian Engineering Education Association Conference
    • Western Political Science Association Conference

Implications

  • New SYDE course that is a direct outgrowth of this project.
  • Changes to the W2024 offering of SDS 441R, where students will provided with more hands on activities.

References

Brown AM (2017). Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds. Oakland: AK Press.

Fischer ARH, Tobi H, Ronteltap A (2013). When Natural Met Social: A Review of Collaboration between the Natural and Social Sciences. Interdisciplinary Science Review 36(4): 341-358.

Fortier C (2021). Abolition and Decolonization as Pedagogy and Practice, in Ewert L and Bird F (eds) Peace is Everyone’s Business. Charlotte: Information Age Publishing.

Lansquiot RD (ed.) (2016). Interdisciplinary pedagogy for STEM: A Collaborative Case Study. Brooklyn: Palgrave-MacMillan.

Mutch S, Borland M, Mercer K (2021). Engineering, Patriarchy, and the Pluriverse: What World of Many Worlds Do We Design? What Worlds Do We Teach? Proceedings of the Canadian Engineering Education Association (CEEA-ACEG) Conference, June 20-23, 2021.