24 – 27 June 2025

CALL FOR PAPERS

CURRICULUM STUDIES IN THE POST/ANTHROPOCENE

Curriculum Studies in the Post/Anthropocene, invites scholars to explore the evolving intersections of curriculum theory and the complex challenges posed by the Anthropocene and beyond. Since Crutzen and Stoermer (2000) proposed the Anthropocene to capture humanity’s transformative impact on Earth’s systems, there have been growing calls to rethink this epoch. Moore (2015), for instance, suggested the term Capitalocene, attributing the rise of capitalism as the pivotal moment in humanity’s relationship with the more-than-human world. As we grapple with the posthuman condition, characterised by the confluence of advanced technologies and environmental degradation, theorists like Braidotti (2019) urge us to reconsider traditional conceptions of subjectivity and human exceptionalism. This conference seeks to address the implications of these developments for curriculum studies, engaging with contemporary theorisings in fields such as new materialism/s, feminist materialism/s, speculative realism, object-oriented ontologies and agential realism. We invite papers that critically explore how curriculum can navigate these emerging developments and contribute to reconfiguring justice, ethics, and subjectivity in the context of the post/anthropocene.

In the context of the post/anthropocene, curriculum reforms and transformations should contend with the rapid sociological, ecological, and technological shifts shaping our world. The concept of the ‘thick now,’ which captures the urgency of these accelerating changes, provides fertile ground for reimagining and reconfiguring possibilities for curriculum. Posthumanism, with its challenge to anthropocentric views and emphasis on the interconnectedness of humans, technology, and non-humans, offers a critical impetus for curriculum scholars to reconfigure traditional frameworks. This approach opens imaginative spaces for exploring alternative ways of knowing, becoming, and doing, where curriculum is no longer a solely human-centered project. The rise of Artificial Intelligence further disrupts conventional notions of curriculum, prompting questions about the ethical implications of AI in education research and the new pathways it creates for learning. As we engage in complicated curriculum conversations, these disruptions open possibilities for the creation of something transformative, where diverse voices and perspectives come together to co-create new curricular possibilities. Alternative and arts-based methods can enrich these conversations, providing more nuanced approaches to curriculum inquiry that capture the complexities of the present condition. Meanwhile, the urgency of sustainability, coupled with geopolitical shifts, demands that curriculum scholars critically engage with questions about the future of education in an increasingly interconnected and precarious world.

Against this backdrop, we invite papers which deal with the following sub-themes.

SUB-THEMES

⁃ Curriculum reforms and transformations
Curriculum reforms and transformations are on-going global responses to the ‘thick now’ in anticipation for sociological, ecological and technological change unfolding at a rapid, and perhaps a disruptive pace. However, despite it being disruptive, the unprecedented rate of change has the potential to open up imaginative spaces for alternative possibilities to curriculum reform and transformation. What might these imaginative possibilities be? How can we re/think and re/configure curriculum reforms and transformations, now and going forward?

⁃ Curriculum and posthumanism
Posthumanism questions traditional humanist perspectives that centre human experiences and overlook the entanglement of humans with non-humans. It challenges anthropocentric views by emphasising the interconnectedness/relatedness of all forms of matter, recognising the agency of non-human entities, and acknowledging the complex, dynamic relations between humans, technology, and diverse ecologies. How might posthumanism assist curriculum scholars/workers to think anew and seek different ways of knowing, becoming and doing curriculum work/inquiry? What alternative possibilities for curriculum inquiry emerge when curriculum and posthumanism are read diffractively?

⁃ Artificial Intelligence and researching curriculum
Education and the way we think and do curriculum, teaching-learning and research have been fundamentally challenged by the exponential growth of (generative) AI. AI has opened up various exciting, alternative pathways of doing and thinking curriculum, but it is not exempt from critique. What alternative pathways does AI open for curriculum? How might future curriculum be influenced by advancements in AI? How can curriculum researchers respond to the ethical questions and dilemmas raised by the exponential growth of AI?

⁃ Curriculum as complicated conversation
Curriculum as complicated conversation has developed as a key terrain in the field of curriculum studies. A curriculum conversation is not mere ‘chit chat’ or a simple information exchange, because unlike these it needs ‘true human presence’. Conversations involve more than language; they are about attunement with the real, like improvisational jazz which is inspired by what is immanently present. Such conversations do not follow predetermined outcomes but create something new and transformative, and difference stimulates complex conversations. Moreover, complicated conversations allow students and scholars to find their own voices and understandings and reduce hierarchical power relations, fostering productive curriculum work through self-criticism and respect. What curriculum conversations are occurring locally, nationally and transnationally?

⁃ Alternative and arts-based methods in curriculum inquiry
The need for alternative and arts-based methods is increasingly recognised due to the limitations of traditional approaches in capturing the complexities and nuances of curriculum. Traditional methods often rely heavily on quantitative data and linear analysis, which can overlook the rich, multifaceted nature of curriculum work. Arts-based methods, such as visual arts, performance, and narrative inquiry, could provide alternative ways of knowing, becoming and doing curriculum. What is the value of alternative and arts-based methods in curriculum work? How might such methods enrich curriculum inquiry and transformations?

⁃ Curriculum studies and the sustainability question
The ubiquity of sustainability in education conversations relates to the dawning awareness in the post second World World War II era that we inhabit a planet with finite resources. Impending environmental catastrophe has made some suggest that the inclusion of sustainability in formal education is an imperative. But the inclusion of sustainability in education has become a contested terrain needing further critical complicated conversations. Since the 1980s there have been calls and directives to include sustainability in school and university curriculum. The unsustainable course of planet Earth (and all its inhabitants) also raise key curriculum questions for the field such as the curriculum questions: what knowledge is of most worth; whose knowledge is of most worth; and is knowledge enough?

– Celebrating fifty years of currere
Fifty years ago, William Pinar who first introduced the concept currere at the annual conference of the American Education Research Association (AERA) held in Washington, DC in 1975. Currere is an autobiographical method that combines insights from existentialism and the psychoanalytic technique of free association to build a multidimensional biography based on conceptual and pre-conceptual experiences. Currere is the Latin root of ‘curriculum’, which means ‘to run’. It is opposed to the Grecian meaning of currere, which means ‘course to run’, that is, a predetermined course that all students follow, kept in track through school subjects and on track through assessment. The Grecian meaning of curriculum is evident in all curriculum iterations constructed within the Tylerian mould. Currere as autobiographical method privileges the individual, and it is a complicated conversation that we have with self because each of us is different. Each of our conversations with self will necessarily be different from that of anyone else’s. Currere has morphed over the past five decades and a rich archive of curriculum stories populate journals, scholarly books, professional publications and alternative media. What new stories can we share?

– Curriculum and geo-political changes
Geo-political changes greatly influence curriculum work often through shaping educational policy priorities and agendas. Political conflicts, such as global hot and cold wars, regional tensions, people fleeing their home countries due to economic hardships and the ravages of war, characterise the global landscape. The upshot of this is growing populism, increased surveillance, racism and xenophobia. Geo-political changes invite responses from curriculum scholars including posing alternative ways of knowing, becoming, and doing.

– Developing a connected Higher Education curriculum
Higher Education today experiences the pressure of delivering on its promise of a high quality workforce. Although the dominant language of graduate attributes often includes a broader orientation as to what university learning should stand for, there exist very real tensions in the ways in which curriculum are imagined, conceptualised, enacted and assessed. What are the ways in which curriculum is being designed to reflect interconnectedness across the diversity of learning and work contexts, disciplines, virtual and real spaces, people and communities, research and teaching?

Conference venue:
Mauritius Institute of Education (MIE)
Address: Reduit Campus, Mauritius

IMPORTANT DATES:

Process of submission of abstract:
All submissions to be done through the following Manuscript Manager address: at https://cspa.manuscriptmanager.net/

Conference registration process:
– Member register on system through the conference website → Submission of abstract → Acceptance of abstract letter (systems generated) → Conference registration →Payment of conference fees using payment platform on the conference webpage (payments to be done in Mauritius Rupees currency)

Conference fees:
(all payments to be done using Mauritian Rupees)

Abstract guidelines:
● Length 250-500
● Abstract title and content including context, aim, methodology, main findings, implications/contributions.
● Font and Format: New Times Roman 12pt with 1.5 line space

Travel and accommodation
To be arranged by delegates but suggested venues will be available on the conference website

Visa requirements:
To be determined by delegates based on country requirements
Letters for visa application to be provided on request – request to be made to Prof Hyleen Mariaye

Conference contacts:
Conferences secretariat: higherstudies@mie.ac.mu mobile: +230 5 9753034
Abstract submission queries: email: higherstudies@mie.ac.mu
Finance queries: email: financegroup@mie.ac.mu

Conference co-ordinators:
Prof Hyleen Mariaye
Mauritius Institute of Education
Email: h.mariaye@mie.ac.mu
And
Prof Labby Ramrathan
IAACS/SAERA/University of KwaZulu-Natal
Email: ramrathanp@ukzn.ac.za