From the personal to the institutional: Exploring language and identity across spaces

Authors

  • Casey Burkholder McGill University

Abstract

This editorial suggests that language practices and identities shift across spaces, and in response to lived and imagined social, systemic, colonial, and historical realities. The editorial presents an overview of the six articles in this issue related to issues of language, diversity, and identity in a variety of contexts, including: elementary schools (Birner), after school programs for secondary students (Hauseman), post-secondary institutions (Surtees & Balyasnikova; Lepp Friesen), policy context for refugee youth (Brewer), and in an evocative personal reflection on identity in relation to Canada’s colonial project (Wright Cardinal). 

Author Biography

Casey Burkholder, McGill University

Casey Burkholder is a PhD Candidate from McGill University who grew up in Canada’s North. As a secondary school teacher in Hong Kong (2008-2010), she taught ‘non-Chinese’ ethnic minority youth. During this time, she wondered about the difference between the Hong Kong government’s policy to include ethnic minority youth in schools, and the lived experiences of her students. This question served as the foundation for Casey’s Master of Arts work at Concordia University. In her doctoral work at McGill University’s Department of Integrated Studies in Education, Casey is embarking on a study that includes an action-oriented project of creating ethnic minority youth-led cellphone videos (cellphilms) to articulate their sense of selves, belonging and citizenship in Hong Kong. Casey has been working with the CJNSE as a review mentor and copy-editor since 2013, was the Assistant Editor (2014-2015), and is excited to continue with the journal as Managing Editor. Casey believes firmly that mentoring new scholars through the process of publication is both rewarding and fruitful.

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Published

2016-11-08

Issue

Section

Editorial/Éditorial