Vibrant curriculum: Theorizing a new materialist social studies

Abstract

In a world facing climate crisis, a growing divide between rich and poor, racial strife, and a rise of xenophobic populism, social studies educators are obligated to investigate social issues in ways that might lead toward more just, less-destructive futures. This paper theorizes a new materialist social studies curriculum—a curriculum attentive to matter, nonhuman species, and anthropocentric representations of nature and the environment—with the aim of uncovering alternative inquiries and responsibilities that might help us flourish as teachers, students, and citizens. Throughout this paper, we argue that a new materialist lens can reconfigure and enliven social studies curriculum, and our corresponding analysis centers on particular events and concepts in the Michigan K-12 Social Studies Standards, considering how prevalent, normative representations reify damaging ways of being and knowing. This paper contributes to ongoing discourses regarding the boundaries, topics, and events that ought to comprise social studies curriculum, and we conclude by speculating new ethical futures for our field.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

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Notes on contributors

Peter M. Nelson

Peter Nelson is a doctoral candidate in Curriculum, Instruction, & Teacher Education at Michigan State University. His most recent research focuses on teaching lives, particularly teachers' affective attachments to stories and aesthetic texts, and how affective attachments inform their work.

Brian Scott Durham

Brian Scott Durham is a doctoral candidate in Curriculum, Instruction, & Teacher Education at Michigan State University. His most recent research explores how memories, especially in social studies education, are made useful in the lives of students and teachers in classrooms.