The BCcampus Research Fellows program provides support for B.C. post-secondary educators to conduct research on improving student learning and to share their results and experiences with peers in B.C. and beyond.
Project Lead/Fellow: Sophia Jaworski
Institution: Capilano University
Project Title: Reshaping Anthropology: Indigenous-Led Teaching Modules for Decolonial Learning in B.C.
Research Focus: This project co-develops Indigenous-led teaching modules for ANTH 206: First Nations of British Columbia, a class taught annually at Capilano University, which is also a part of the environmental studies program. The goal of this project is to address a critical gap in post-secondary education; the lack of collaboratively developed, Indigenous-led course materials that meaningfully center Indigenous knowledge systems, histories, and legal orders. Working with an Indigenous scholar, educator, and knowledge holder, the project creates three to four reusable modules based on:
- the colonial legacy of anthropology in B.C.
- Indigenous engagement with anthropological archives
- archaeology and Indigenous law
- Indigenous ecological knowledge in environmental anthropology
By centering Indigenous leadership and using relationship-based, collaborative methods, the project supports decolonial pedagogy and produces publicly available resources to strengthen teaching and learning across B.C.
Biography: Dr. Sophia Jaworski is a faculty member in sociocultural anthropology at Capilano University. Her research focuses on environmental anthropology and petrochemicals, combining ethnography with creative methods and critical digital humanities approaches to environmental data justice in Canada. She brings experience working collaboratively with Indigenous scholars and knowledge keepers to this project, centering anticolonial interdisciplinary scholarship that spans anthropology, feminist science studies, and environmental humanities.