Understanding Curriculum Epistemicide

The relentless bombing of cities, dismantling of democracies, projection of hate as kindness, and masquerading lies as truth are emerging realities of the 21st century. In reconsidering curriculum epistemicide, this edited collection converges on the erasure of unique ways of knowing. However, differences arise as we examine the definition of curriculum epistemicide, and who gets to define it. The chapters in this book are uniquely braided in the ever-expanding encounter with various theories and perspectives, enabling readers to perceive an issue from different standpoints, providing a deeper understanding of what curriculum theory is and which knowledge is of most worth.

Richard D. Sawyer is a professor at Washington State University, Vancouver Campus. He focuses on reflexive and transformative curriculum within transnational contexts related to education, identity, and neoliberalism. He is co-creator of the critical qualitative methodology Duoethnography, for which he received the AERA Division D Outstanding Book Award in 2015. He was a longtime co-editor of the Northwest Journal of Teacher Education and has recently published on how teachers develop democratic and collaborative visions for public education.

Wanying Wang is a Visiting Assistant Professor at St. John’s University. Dr. Wang holds doctorates from the University of Hong Kong and the University of British Columbia. Her research areas include curriculum theory, phenomenology, psychoanalysis, attunement, teacher education, educational leadership, curriculum innovation in higher education, sociology of education, and social and cultural analysis of education issues. She has published numerous journal articles, book chapters, and two books. She is currently serving on several editorial boards of journals specializing in curriculum.

Daniel Ness is a professor at St. John’s University in New York. He received his PhD from Columbia University in 2001. His research focuses on the areas of curriculum reconceptualization, spatial cognition, and teacher identity construction. His 2022 book, Block Parties (Routledge), examines the efficacy of a wide array of play media and their levels of affordance. His edited book, Alternatives to Privatizing Public Education and Curriculum, was awarded the 2018 Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book Award.