Why is it so challenging to understand the agency of the material world and other beings?
Shared by AFFRICA TAYLOR, VERONICA PACINI-KETCHABAW AND MINDY BLAISE
This is the third of a five-part series of blogs – based around questions that Kathleen Kummen asked us in a video-recorded zoom conference panel session in September 2020. We edited the 2 hours session into segments, based around 5 sets of questions and answers. You’ll be able to watch the video segments via the links provided at the end of each blog post.
Kathleen asked us to talk about why it is so hard to understand the agency of the material world and other beings. For many, this becomes a challenge as we assign human agency to materials and beings, and struggle to see the agency enacted by materials, humans, and other beings in relationship. In answer to this question, Mindy reflects on the history of the agentic child in early childhood education and how this can get in the way of considering the agentic world. Affrica discusses how humanist understandings of agency get in the way of us fully appreciating the inherent relationality of agency. And Veronica talks about the risk in not taking the time to carefully and rigorously address these questions of the agency of the world.
References
Kummen, K., Pacini-Ketchabaw, V., Blaise, M. & Taylor, A (2020) Common World Pedagogies: Interview Part 3. Video-recorded zoom keynote panel session. North Shore Early Childhood Conference: To Learn, To Wonder, Vancouver, 25/26 September https://youtu.be/PVxdSvsldCA