Introduction: Critical praxis journal
Welcome to my critical praxis journal, a digital space where I engage with both theorized and practiced knowledge. In this journal, I engage in critical praxis as a dialectic, dynamic, and ongoing practice that integrates theory, action, and reflection (Stuart, 2020). I align with Freire’s (1972) orientation to praxis, which is described as “reflection and action upon the world in order to transform it” (p. 52). I reflect on how my engagement with both theory and practice (action) informs my scholarly interests and “real world” approaches, with a particular focus on how reflection and action together can transform the world (Freire, 1972).
This journal is a digital scrapbook that brings together reflective pieces in different forms. Some critical reflections are fully formed, while others are messy and incomplete – fragments of thoughts and feelings I am working through. Sometimes, I have included questions or areas of interest for future exploration and discovery. The journal consists of written reflections, audio notes, digital media (photos, videos, website links), and other modes of presenting my ideas.
An important part of my journal are “dialogues of meaning-making” (written, audio, and visual) between myself, and fellow SOPR student, Nealob Kakar, who recently completed her qualifying exam. We are inspired by Maynard and Simpson (2022) and their book, Rehearsals for Living, in which Simpson and Maynard exchange letters to explore Black and Indigenous perspectives on our current social, economic, and political reality which has been/is profoundly and shaped by slavery and colonization. By engaging in letter writing as a kinship and meaning-making practice; Maynard and Simpson co-create new knowledge while reimagining and re-building an alternative, more just world. It is in this spirit that Nealob and I hope to share and build upon one another's learning. We are both focusing on different pillars of the SOPR program, and through our interdisciplinary exchange, hope to enrich one another's growth as emerging scholar/practitioners.
Ultimately, my critical praxis journal is a peak inside the questions, concerns, and uncertainties of a becoming scholar/practitioner. It is with humility (and some vulnerability) that I share this messy, in-process piece.