Memory, Self and Place in Education
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Science and Mathematics Education Centre Faculty of Humanities Until We Have Faces: Memory, Self and Place in Education Michelle Waldock This thesis is presented for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy of Curtin University May 2019 Declaration To the best of my knowledge and belief this thesis contains no material previously published by any other person except where due acknowledgement has been made. This thesis contains no material which has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university. Human Ethics (For projects involving human participants/tissue etc.) The research presented and reported in this thesis was conducted in accordance with the National Health and Medical Research Council National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research (2007) — updated March 2014. The proposed research study received human ethics approval from the Curtain University Human Research Ethics Committee (EC00262), Approval Number #SMEC 67-10. Signature: Date: 2nd May 2019 iii Acknowledgements “Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans”, sang John Lennon (1980) and the writing of this thesis has informed my life as well as being informed by it. I began this thesis in my 40th year and now, a decade later, I find I am at the end. I write the words, but enfolded in the writing is everyone—colleagues, friends, Book Group members—I have met, spoken with, laughed and worked with over the past 10 years. Every conversation has been inspiring, or puzzling, or thought-provoking, or heart- rending. The writing would be poorer without these conversations. I say thank you to everyone. Some people stand out amongst many, and it is to them I owe the most gratitude. To Bevis Yaxley, who started me on this journey and whose wise words gently nudged me in the right direction, thank you. You are greatly missed. To Roya Pugh, who has guided me through to the end, with your ever-patient and gentle suggestions, there are not enough words of thanks for your kindness. To Barry Fraser, whose avuncular interest and thoughtful conversations on your annual visits bolstered my flagging spirits and whose patience while this writing came to a conclusion is much appreciated. To Curtin University, who have been ever-helpful and provided much support as this writing dragged on far past its contracted end, thank you. My flexible and considerate editor, Emma Weitnauer, who shaped the mish-mash of fonts, indents and styles into a polished final product, has been conscientious and careful. Thank you, Emma for reading this writing and getting it ready for submission. To all my students, without you this writing would have no form and no purpose. I am one of the luckiest people around to work in a profession I love iv so much. Thank you for all the conversations, those tiny moments that made me aware of something much larger and important. Finally, all my love and thanks to my family. Not once did you say, “When will you be finished?” You simply waited, provided cups of tea and believed I could do it. You give me the courage to look long and hard into the deep face of the world by offering unflagging support and unconditional love. v For my beloved husband, John And my family. Without you, there would be no me. I love you all. And for my Grandparents You are gone, yet you walk beside me always. vi Table of Contents Declaration ......................................................................................................................... iii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. vii Abstract .............................................................................................................................. ix Finding my Face .................................................................................................................. 1 Chapter 1 .......................................................................................................................... 13 Orienting Myself for Research ......................................................................................... 13 Lighting a possible course .......................................................................................................... 15 Relating lived experience as a “breathing of meaning” ............................................................. 22 Intersubjectivity and being-with-one-another ........................................................................... 26 Understanding to provoke writing: writing to understand ........................................................ 30 Epiphany: Balancing the present moment with past traditions and history ............................. 36 Memories that light perception ................................................................................................. 40 Chapter 2 .......................................................................................................................... 44 The Continuity of Memory: An Imagined Self ................................................................. 44 World within and world without ................................................................................................ 48 Entirety and portions: The interweaving text of a Self .............................................................. 53 Travelling the curvature of Time in all directions ...................................................................... 65 Chapter 3 .......................................................................................................................... 73 A Manifold of Appearances: The Self as a Flexagon ........................................................ 73 You haven’t changed a bit! The public Self across Time ............................................................ 74 Render or receive? When the public and private face collide ................................................... 84 Chapter 4 .......................................................................................................................... 93 Lacunae: Perception, Interpretation, Understanding ..................................................... 93 Embracing gaps .......................................................................................................................... 95 Perceptions and prejudices: Struggling for the foreground ....................................................... 98 Tradition and interpretation: Beyond the visual echo ............................................................. 101 Inside the echoes: Reflection and understanding .................................................................... 106 Chapter 5 ........................................................................................................................ 115 A Path through Fog and Quicksand: Aporia and Bricolage ........................................... 115 Lacuna and aporia ................................................................................................................... 123 A possible path: Bricolage in the classroom ............................................................................ 131 Occlusion and illumination: Bricolage, lacunae and aporiae through another lens ................ 139 vii Chapter 6 ........................................................................................................................ 143 The Medium is the Message: The Role of Language in Interpretation ......................... 143 A cracked kettle: Demented language ..................................................................................... 143 The verbum interius: A way to melt the stars? ........................................................................ 155 Chapter 7 ........................................................................................................................ 166 Twisted Words: The Professor and Little Bo Peep ........................................................ 166 The Professor: Between written and spoken words ................................................................ 166 Little Bo-Peep: Not all words are equal ................................................................................... 173 Play of indeterminacy: Negotiated meanings .......................................................................... 177 J’adoube: Risk and ambiguity in conversation ......................................................................... 180 Chapter 8 ........................................................................................................................ 188 The Otherland: Belonging and Displacement on an Island ........................................... 188 Once in memory: Traversing my island .................................................................................... 191 The heimat: The imagined homeland ...................................................................................... 196 Reflections on a district school ................................................................................................ 200 Chapter 9 ........................................................................................................................ 212 Becoming Real ................................................................................................................ 212 Sheena: