Mothering and Education: A Conversation
Indigenous Maternal Theory and Praxis
Dr. Jennifer Brant, OISE/University of Toronto
Black Mother Scholars Redefining Inquiry Through Black Art
Dr. Stephanie Fearon, York University
Latinx Communities and Racialized Parents Navigating the Education System
Dr. Alexandra Arraiz Matute, Carleton University
Moderator: Dr. Korina Jocson, York University
Tuesday, April 22
5:00 – 6:30pm (Eastern Time)
Online
Please register here or scan QR code on the event flyer.
https://yorku.zoom.us/meeting/register/VQGUDtn4TIK_fo82_tlUDw#/registration
Within critical interdisciplinary studies and education, this conversation features maternal pedagogies that shed light on mothering/parenting experiences and projects across learning environments. To deepen connections in alignment with the Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies are epistemic threads that highlight Indigenous maternal theory and praxis, Black mother scholars redefining inquiry through Black art, Latinx communities and racialized parents navigating the education system, and poetics of mothering in precarious times. This conversation builds on collective scholarship that seeks to further open spaces for engagement.
About the speakers:
Dr. Jennifer Brant, first and foremost a mother of two boys, belongs to the Kanien’kehá:ka (Mohawk Nation) with family ties to Six Nations of the Grand River Territory and Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory. Jennifer is a Mother-Scholar and an Associate Professor in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of Toronto, where she directs the Indigenous Literatures Lab and teaches about Indigenous maternal pedagogies and Indigenous literatures. Brant writes to honour Indigenous maternal histories and storied lives, positioning Indigenous literatures as powerful narratives that humanize Indigenous peoples through multiple calls for justice and accountability. Her scholarship extends this revolutionary body of work to inspire resistance, rebirth and renewal. Brant is the co-editor of Forever Loved: Exposing the Hidden Crisis of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls in Canada (2016) and Rematriating Justice: Honouring Our Missing Sisters (2024), writing that calls for immediate responses to racialized and sexualized and gender-based violences. Her work on Indigenous mothering is featured in a Routledge Companion on Mothering and several Demeter Press collections.
Dr. Stephanie Fearon is the inaugural assistant professor of Black thriving and education at York University. Her research draws on Black storytelling traditions to explore the ways that Black mothers and educational institutions partner to support Black student well-being. Fearon uses literary and visual arts to communicate – in a structured, creative and accessible form – insights gleaned from stories shared by Black mothers and their families. Her publications have appeared in several scholarly journals, including Journal of Canadian Studies, Canadian Journal for the Study of Adult Education, Canadian Review of Sociology/Revue canadienne de sociologie, and Journal of African American Women and Girls in Education. Fearon has worked in public education systems for nearly 15 years, assuming teaching and leadership positions in France, Guadeloupe and Canada.
Dr. Alexandra Arraiz Matute is an Assistant Professor in the Institute of Interdisciplinary Studies at Carleton University. She completed her doctorate in Curriculum Studies & Teacher Development at the Ontario Institute of Studies in Education, University of Toronto. She has an MA in Curriculum Studies from the same institution and a BSc in Psychology. Arraiz Matute is a passionate community educator and organizer. Her research and pedagogical interests lie at the intersections of identity, culture, race, and migration. Past research focused on the importance of relationships in teaching and learning as a site of healing and resistance for marginalized communities in the mainstream education system. Her approach to teaching is grounded in anti-oppression, equity, and feminist theories. Arraiz Matute believes in honoring diverse knowledges while pushing ourselves out of our comfort zone to learn from each other.
This event is part of the Pondering Pedagogy Series co-sponsored by the Office of the Associate Dean, Academic Programs, in the Faculty of Education and Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies at York University.