Culturally appreciative or culturally appropriative? Ethical considerations for incorporating contemplative practices

This workshop is part of the Contemplative Practices Summit series.

The ethical questions that underpin contemplative pedagogies contend with questions of cultural appropriation - is this practice being used appropriately when it is removed from its original cultural setting? Together, we will address the ethical tensions that may arise when incorporating practices that belong to a culture different than one's own.

In this session, we will explore the distinction between culturally appreciative and culturally appropriative contemplative practices. By exploring these distinctions, participants will reflect on how contemplative practices interact with different cultural contexts.

We will address ways to frame and present contemplative practices, such as making their cultural origins visible to students, and how they may have been altered for the classroom. Finally, we will consider processes for selecting contemplative practices, asking why this particular practice, and evaluating its relevance to your teaching context.

Audience: Concordia faculty, teaching staff, and TAs (grad students with teaching roles)