EDIA Book Club

Maheshi, Ben, and Erin are restarting the EDIA Book Club in January 2024. It is open to anyone who is interested, and we will be discussing the following book: Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants by Robin Wall Kimmerer

The book is available as an e-book through the SMU library. We will meet every second week on Fridays at 12:30 - 1:30. We plan to cover the following pages on the dates indicated below. We will do a recap at the beginning of each session, so don’t worry if you are not able to complete all the chapter(s).

January 19, 2024: Book Club Introduction and Presentation (Hybrid Session - email us for zoom link). We will also hear a presentation on Weaving together Indigenous wisdom and Western science for a sustainable future by Rachel Kendall. Rachel is a Research Associate with the Nova Scotia Community College where she collaborates with Mi’kmaq communities to restore community connection with sweetgrass, a culturally-important plant.

February 2, 2024: Planting Sweetgrass, pg. 1 -62

February 16, 2024: Tending Sweetgrass, pg. 63-117

March 1, 2024: Picking Sweetgrass, pg. 118-201

March 15, 2024: Braiding Sweetgrass, pg. 202-253

April 5, 2024: Braiding Sweetgrass, pg. 254-301

April 19, 2024: Burning Sweetgrass, pg. 302-388

If you’re interested in joining, please let either Maheshi (maheshi.dharmasiri[at]smu.ca) or Ben (benjamin.dow[at]smu.ca) know so we can add you to the mailing list.

Previously in winter semester 2023, the EDIA book club was organized by Helen and Erin, and we met every 2 weeks to discuss the following book:

Black, brown, bruised: How racialised STEM education stifles innovation by Ebony Omotola McGee