Towards collaborative approaches to heritage and education : a postcritical ethnography of a participatory action research project in Belize
- UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
- Harriet Lauren Phillips (Creator)
- Institution
- The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
- Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
- Advisor
- Leila Villaverde
Abstract: Colonial legacies in Belize continue to marginalize contemporary Maya groups; this is particularly evident in public education practices and national representations of Maya culture and history. A need exists for community-led educational spaces that offer Maya and Maya-Mestizo youth opportunities to explore and practice their cultural heritage outside of the colonial gaze of Western education praxis and nationalism in Belize. Responding to this need, the researcher, in collaboration with local educators and community knowledge-bearers in a Yucatec Maya community in Belize, developed a cultural heritage education program for youth that provided opportunities for youth development and community building focusing on connections to Maya-Mestizo heritage. To explore the possibilities of this project, the researcher employed postcritical ethnographic methods framed by decolonizing methodologies and informed by postmodern and critical postcolonial thought. The blending of these perspectives offers an alternative approach to heritage studies involving Indigenous non-western communities and foreign western researchers. The findings of this postcritical ethnography of this participatory action research project indicate that the experiences offered through this initiative provided youth an opportunity for increased awareness around heritage and agency. Additionally, this work demonstrates how such collaborative, cross-cultural partnerships create the potential for more critical, ethical, and collaborative engagement in the broader field of heritage studies.
Towards collaborative approaches to heritage and education : a postcritical ethnography of a participatory action research project in Belize
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Created on 12/1/2023
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Additional Information
- Publication
- Dissertation
- Language: English
- Date: 2023
- Keywords
- Community-engaged, Heritage Education, Indigenous, Maya, Participatory Action Research, Postcritical Ethnography
- Subjects
- Cultural property $x Study and teaching $z Belize
- Youth development $z Belize
- Maya youth $z Belize