Seminars/Workshops
The International School of Radical Relationism (ISRR) holds regular monthly seminar and workshop presentations on Zoom. We will be regularly uploading YouTube video recordings of these presentations here. New dates for seminars and workshops coming soon!
Here is a list of our previous 2023-2024 meeting dates, and our upcoming colloquium:
2023-2024 Academic Year ISRR Project
| DATE | TIME | QUESTIONS/TOPICS |
| September 22, 2023 | 13:00 PT | 1) Planning Meeting 2) Collective Discussion: What is Radical Relationism? (Discussant: Chris Powell) |
| November 3, 2023 | 12:00 PT | Kevin Naimi and Florian Weitkamper paper – Questions of authority and vulnerability in the education system. |
| November 17, 2023 | 6:00 PDT | Reflexivity vs objectivity: How to critically assess knowledge in an era of fake news? (Discussants Melody Devries – Kevin Naimi – Zoltan Lakatos) |
| January 5, 2024 | 13:00 PDT | Ethics: How can Radical Relationism inform activism oriented to social justice, anti-violence, egalitarianism, anti-oppression? (Discussants Birgit Poopuu – Rebecca Buys – Monica Sanchez-Flores) |
| January 19, 2024 | 20:00 PDT | Victor Jimenez paper – Decolonization of knowledge |
| February 8, 2024 | 6:00 PDT | What is the potential of Radical Relationism to decolonize knowledge production? (Discussants Victor Jimenez – Ben Klasche – Wasiq Silan) |
| March 8, 2024 | 13:00 PDT | Radical Relational pedagogical innovation and epistemology (Discussants Melody Devries – Jenna Woodrow – Zoltan Lakatos) |
| ISRR Summit, October, 16 to 18, 2024 | In person in Kamloops, BC | ISRR in person work: Colloquium and Statement + Workshop for Students (details coming soon!) |
March 8th, 2024: Radical Relational Pedagogical Innovation and Epistemology – Melody Devries, Jenna Woodrow, and Zoltan Lakatos
This ISRR seminar that took place on March 8, 2024, focuses on radical relational pedagogical innovation and epistemology. Presentations on the topic are given by Zoltan Lakatos (Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Communication at Budapest University of Technology and Economics), Jenna Woodrow (Associated Teaching Professor of Philosophy in the Department of Philosophy, History, and Politics at Thompson Rivers University), and Melody Devries (Assistant Professor of Digital Media & Ethnography in the Department of Communication, Media, and Performance at Allegheny College). First, Zoltan presents on how pragmatic approaches to teaching, specifically in immersing his students in historical sites, can help students learn from a radical relationist perspective. Second, Jenna presents on the radical relationist teachings of Indigenous epistemologies. Third, Melody presents on what radical relationism can provide undergraduate students and related exercises to help students reflect. A discussion and question period follows with the ISRR group involving topics (in the context of education) such as de/colonial radical relationism, Indigenous epistemologies, the importance of lived experience in the classroom, the dynamic flux of relations, autonomy and the self, and student reflections on positionality in classroom exercises.
February 8th, 2024: Decolonizing Radical Relationism: Indigenous Allyship, Colonized Knowledge Production, and More – Wasiq Silan, Victor Jimenez, and Benjamin Klasche
This ISRR seminar that took place on February 8, 2024, focuses on the decolonization of radical relationism by focusing on Indigenous allyship and colonial approaches to knowledge. First, Benjamin Klasche (Lecturer of Political Science and International Studies in the School of Governance, Law and Society at Tallinn University) presents on how radical relationism needs to be decolonized. Second, Wasiq Silan (Assistant Professor in the Department of Indigenous Affairs and Ethno-Development at National Dong Hwa University and Affiliated Researcher at the University of Helsinki) presents on the Tayan Indigenous language and identity reclamation, where her lived experience helps provide useful insights. Ben then discusses why this matters and how an allyship of radical relationism and Indigenous ways of knowing might be able to help. Next, Victor Jiminez Rivera (PhD Candidate and Junior Research Fellow in International Relations in the School of Governance, Law and Society at Tallinn University) presents on colonized knowledge production, including the attempt of Western academic institutions to implement Indigenous ways of knowing and how this remains colonial. The group discusses and poses questions on topics such as de/colonial radical relationism, its allyship with Indigenous knowledge, their own lived experiences, the importance of different Indigenous communities being acknowledged when thinking of lived languages and identity reclamation, localism, universalism, pluriversalism, cosmopolitanism, the framing of asking ‘how’ instead of why, the dynamic flux of relations, and how radical relationism can be decolonized to create allyship with Indigenous ways of knowing.
January 19th, 2024: Decolonizing Knowledge Production: A Critical Look at Knowledge Production in the Europeanization Narrative in European Integration – Victor Jimenez Rivera
This ISRR seminar that took place on January 19, 2024, focuses on the decolonization of knowledge production within the Europeanization narrative of European integration. First, a presentation on the topic is given by Victor Jiminez Rivera (PhD Candidate and Junior Research Fellow in International Relations in the School of Governance, Law and Society at Tallinn University). Victor presents his current PhD research work which studies the link between the EU’s integration and its resulting state capture of peripheral countries. He does so by doing a discourse analysis of institutional relations. He discusses how a governance approach that amplifies local agency is a possible solution, but further studying is needed to determine how this can be achieved as it is considered a ‘Wicked Problem.’ The hegemonic and colonial nature of the European’s attempt to ‘diagnose the problem’ of the periphery and ‘prescribe them a solution’ is heavily a part of the current issue. A discussion and question period follows with the ISRR group. The group discusses and questions the complexity of such wicked problems, and possible ways to processually move toward radical relationist solutions.
January 5th, 2024: How can Radical Relationism inform activism oriented to social justice, anti-violence, egalitarianism, anti-oppression? – Rebecca Buys, Birgit Poopuu, and Monica Sanchez-Flores
This ISRR seminar on activism, social justice, anti-violence, egalitarianism, and anti-oppression (January 5, 2024) includes reflections on why ethics matter within the context of the scholar-activist by Rebecca Buys (Alfred Deakin Institute for Citizenship and Globalisation, Deakin University), Birgit Poopuu (Associate Professor of International Relations and Head of the International Relations and Futures Studies, School of Governance, Law and Society, Tallinn University), and Monica Sanchez-Flores (Associate Professor of Sociology, Department of Environment, Culture and Society, Thompson Rivers University). A discussion and question period follows with the ISRR group. Discussed topics include why radical relationism needs ethics (and what are ethics?), what the responsibilities of intellectuals are (including ways to approach social justice relationally), how activist-scholars can practice ethics, which components guide us within the activist-scholar identity (e.g., humility, love, compassion), and which issues are centred when our starting point is scholar-activist (e.g., beyond anthropocentric perspectives).
November 17th, 2023: Reflexivity, Objectivity, and Fake News – Melody Devries, Kevin Naimi, and Zoltan Lakatos
This ISRR video (November 17, 2023) includes a presentation and follows with a discussion on the topic of radical relationism, reflexivity, and objectivity in the context of fake news. Presenters/Discussants: Dr. Melody Devries (Assistant Professor in the Department of Communication, Media, and Performance at Allegheny College), Dr. Zoltan Lakatos (Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Communication at Budapest University of Technology and Economics), and Dr. Kevin Naimi (Adjunct Professor in the Department of Foundations and Practices in Education at Université Laval). Melody discusses relationality in the context of contradiction, the far-right and fake news. Zoltan then presents on “Misinformation” (MI) and “Disinformation” (DI), referencing current issues. Kevin then mostly focuses on the problems surrounding objectivity and reflexivity in both an educational and societal context. The video concludes with valuable knowledge producing conversation.
November 3rd, 2023: Relational Authority and Vulnerability in the Classroom – Kevin Naimi and Florian Weitkamper
This ISRR video includes a presentation with a group discussion that took place online on November 3, 2023. Dr. Kevin Naimi (Adjunct Professor at Université Laval in Sociology and Education) and Dr. Florian Weitkamper (Assistant Professor at the University of Freiburg in Sociology and Education) present on the topic of relational authority and problems surrounding vulnerability in the classroom. Brief Summary: Kevin begins by introducing the ideas of authority and power, relational and non-relational authority, and unpacking authority and vulnerability. Florian then discusses his study, which aimed to answer the following question: “What is the teacher’s role in the transformation of social differences in educational inequalities?” Both teacher and student perceptions were sought, and a classroom case study was presented. Kevin provides conclusions on educational inequalities and monological authority. The ISRR group then has a discussion amongst themselves on topics including the teacher as a learner, relational authority’s application to higher education and policymaking, whose responsibility when learning does not occur, and how to maintain classroom inclusivity and efficiency when students have different needs.