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Volume 21, Issue 3
  • ISSN: 1743-5234
  • E-ISSN: 2040-090X

Abstract

This article rethinks decolonization through the lens of posthuman-a/r/tography, a theoretical framework that integrates posthumanist philosophy with a/r/tographic methodology. The inquiry was initiated by a chance encounter with a seagull perched atop , a sculpture representing First Nations culture on the University of British Columbia (UBC) campus in Vancouver, Canada. Inspired by contiguity in a/r/tography, and drawing on visual artworks, narrative, avian visual systems and quantum physics, I sought to challenge dominant understandings of decolonization and contribute to a reimagined interpretative pathway. Later, as an educator, I extended this inquiry into my K–12 art classroom, where students engaged in learning with and from non-human entities. Their responses open new possibilities for decolonial pedagogy. I argue that decolonization is not only an act of integration and/or reconciliation between Indigenous people and non-Indigenous people but also an ongoing process of entangled becoming among beings, events, perspectives and relationships.

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2025-11-29
2026-04-15

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Flying with the bird: A posthuman-a/r/tographic rethinking of decolonization
International Journal of Education Through Art 21, 443 (2025); https://doi.org/10.1386/eta_00209_1
/content/journals/10.1386/eta_00209_1
/content/journals/10.1386/eta_00209_1
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  • Article Type: Article
Keyword(s): a/r/tography; art education; entanglement; more-than-human agency; posthumanism; reconsidering decoloniality

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