USURJ: University of Saskatchewan Undergraduate Research Journal

Introduction to the Special Issue: Disrupting and Expanding the Status Quo

Kandice Parker; Liv Catherine Marken; Joshua Katz — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 00:00:00 -0600

Introduction to the Special Issue: Disrupting and Expanding the Status Quo, including Editorial Board and Acknowledgments

Green Capitalism Won’t Save Indigenous Nations or Canadians

Maxwell Folk — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 18:15:26 -0600

The 'greening' of capitalism is marketed as mitigating the drawbacks of historical and contemporary systems of extraction while simultaneously being pushed as a method through which relationships between Indigenous nations and the state can be reconciled or decolonized. However, this narrative is ignorant of the consumption required for maintenance of the status quo for colonial states and the subservient relationships of Indigenous nations to the dominant economic system. Without major changes in colonial consumption and the relation of Indigenous peoples to planning and power, decolonization and mitigation of climate disaster are doomed to failure.

Artwork

Isha Noor — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0600

As a learner, I’ve always been curious about the world around me, including a keen interest in how organisms function at a cellular level. This curiosity led to me developing a passion for the sciences. Not only that but as a curious individual I have always felt drawn to the sciences, a field where questions are always encouraged, hence the title of piece being “But, why?”. My passion for understanding the world at a cellular level made me want to study CPPS for my undergrad. Now, being in the second year of my degree I not only enjoy my classes but also appreciate the shift in perspective they have caused in how I view the world around me. This art piece is dedicated to the change in perspective I have experienced. Through my art piece, I try to use biological figures in imitation of the natural world to show that the things we learn are everywhere around us. For example, the DNA bridge is indicative of our genetic material being the backbone of who we are at the molecular level. Below the DNA bridge, I included the initials R.E.F as an homage to Rosalind E. Franklin whom I first learned about in grade 11 about not having received credit for her work in revealing the double helix formation of DNA. I drew the DNA so that it is unwinding closer to the end to show how there is still so much we have yet to discover and understand regarding its many complexities. I also included a body of water since it is crucial to many forms of life, and inside of it, I drew outlines of duplicating cells. Next to the water, is a phospholipid bilayer, something that has come up in my studies since high school as something simple yet crucial. The bacteriophages creeping towards the left are meant to contrast the bright and joyful imagery, to show how in sciences we learn about the interesting ways in which our bodies and environments are able to fend off potential dangers. However, these dangers are also important in the balance of life and the natural environment. The greenery framing the art piece is meant to represent the extracellular matrix, the various proteins that hold cells together. I tried to imitate this through my painting as crosslinked greenery. In the bottom right corner, I’ve also drawn myself looking up from reading a textbook as a way to show what it’s like to learn about such fascinating things and how it directly shifts my world view. Lastly, I drew this piece with a clear vanishing point as a metaphorical way of showing that our knowledge of the world and the study of science has gone through a journey and though our knowledge may have “dates of discovery” and points at which we began the studies of certain things, there is still no clear end to learning and everything we discover only leads to more questions which is definitely my favourite part about learning in my degree. Similar to the endless journey of the sciences, I look forward to where my own journey in this field will go.

Poetry

Zahra Ahmad — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 00:00:00 -0600

Two poems.

We Are All Treaty People

Emily Zepick — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 18:10:05 -0600

Within the Saskatchewan curriculum, one goal of K-12 education is ensuring that students come out of classrooms knowing that they, like all Canadians, are treaty people. This focus is touched on in select curriculum guides and within the Treaty Education Outcomes and Indicators document that has been in use by the Saskatchewan Ministry of Education since 2013. While measures such as these have made the province seem to be ahead of other Canadian provinces in terms of Indigenous education, more needs to be done to ensure that this content is implemented into subject matter throughout the curriculum. The focus of this paper is on implementation methods and examples in high school Arts and STEM classrooms, as research from select organizations and from other Canadian education ministries reveals that Indigenous content can be implemented into the curricular outcomes present within these subjects. The culmination of this research looks into how the implementation of Indigenous content can aid in both the teaching of Canadian Reconciliation and in furthering the use of anti-oppressive education of which Indigenous education is a part.

Anti-Racist Lesson Plan

Junita Subangani Raj — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 18:09:04 -0600

This paper delves into a personal exploration of race, identity, and experience in the University of Saskatchewan’s Anti-Racist Education Mentorship (AEM) Project. I recount my process of learning about racism, its ramifications in society, and my conclusion that racism is taught and passed down generationally. I define anti-racism and emphasize the importance of anti-racist education when pursuing racial justice. I detail my experience creating an anti-racist lesson plan about residential schools in Canada and delivering my lesson plan to grade 2/3 students in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. I reflect on this teaching experience, students' engagement, and understanding of anti-racism concepts, and I stress the importance of age-appropriate discussions surrounding racism. My experience delivering an anti-racist lesson to grade 2/3 students disrupts the status quo by challenging the conventional belief that early elementary students are not mature enough to discuss experiences of racism.

Forbidden Love in Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things

Lujaine Mongy Salem — Thu, 29 Feb 2024 18:09:33 -0600

While shared beliefs, standards, and norms can often influence our perception of what is morally right or wrong, it is necessary to question the origin of certain cultural ideals. Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things (1997) questions the importance of adhering to the status quo as the novel explores the theme of forbidden love. The use of heterotopic spaces in the book produces variations of the real world where characters can explore their forbidden love interests and challenge societal constraints. These heterotopias are environments that are characteristically 'other' because they represent ideas which are intense, incompatible, or transforming (Foucault 4). Central characters in Arundhati Roy's The God of Small Things use these spaces to interrogate the complexity of forbidden love and disrupt the status quo.