About the Book
This book brings attention to the understudied and often overlooked question of how curricula and classroom practices might inadvertently reproduce exclusionary discourses and narratives that omit or negate particular cultures, histories, and wisdom traditions.
With a focus on representations and classroom practices related especially to ancient and Indigenous wisdom traditions and cultures, it includes unique contributions from scholars studying these questions in various contexts. The book offers a range of important studies from key African and Euro-Asian contexts, including Afghanistan, Albania, Greece, Iran, South Africa, Sweden, Türkiye, and Zimbabwe. The various chapter contributions address and discuss nuances of each of the contexts under study. The contributions also help highlight some key commonalities across these contexts, including how dominant discourses and various forces have historically shaped—and continue to shape and reproduce—such omissions, misrepresentations, and marginalization. In addition to seeking to reconcile with some of these ancient and Indigenous wisdom traditions and cultures, the book charts a path forward towards more holistic analytical frameworks as well as more inclusive and balanced representations and classroom practices in these aforementioned geographic contexts and beyond.
It will appeal to scholars, researchers, undergraduate, and graduate students with interests in Indigenous education, curriculum studies, citizenship education, history of education, religion, and educational policy.
Table of Contents:
Introduction–Historical and Living Indigenous Wisdom Traditions in Contention: Why This Edited Volume? 1. Exploring Historical Roots of the Chasm and Its Modern Manifestations and (Re)Productions 2. Representing Ancient Belief Systems to Fit National Constructs: Albanian and Greek School Curricula and Textbooks in Transition 3. Reconciling with the Ancient Greeks: Ancient Greek Religion and Greek Identity in the Early Greek School Textbook 4. What Has Been Lost?: Tracing the Religious Diversity of Anatolia over Discourses in Contemporary Secondary Education Curriculum of Türkiye 5. An Analysis of Afghanistan's 1–12 Education Curricula and its Treatment of Non-Abrahamic Belief Systems 6. Irreconcilable Narratives? Textual Representations of Zoroastrians in Iranian Textbooks and Their Experiences in Iran 7. Keeping the Balance: Reflections on Religion Education in Upper Secondary School in Sweden 8. Incorporating Indigenous Knowledge Within Mathematics and Technology Education: Teachers’ Beliefs and Experiences of How Culturally-Based Activities Shaped Their Spirituality, Identities, Worldviews and Attitudes 9. Moral Regeneration, Multi-Faith Perspectives, and Intercultural Exchange Representations in Zimbabwe’s Religious Education Curricula and Textbooks 10. Conclusion – Proposing a Typology to Deconstruct Representations of Historical and Living Wisdom Traditions, and Ways to Foster Dialogue and Reconciliation Efforts
About the Author :
Ehaab D. Abdou is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Global Studies at Wilfrid Laurier University, Canada.
Theodore G. Zervas is a Professor in the School of Education at North Park University, USA.
Review :
"In Ancient and Indigenous Wisdom Traditions in African and Euro-Asian Contexts, Ehaab Abdou and Theodore Zervas achieve, along with their impressive lineup of contributors, optimally constructed analyses that should accord us a timely and circularly critical re-actualization of ancient Indigenous wisdoms that, in more communally connected times, had the desirable fluidity of traversing knowledge and learning boundaries. These living wisdoms which selectively represent our foundational epistemic particles and resulting clusters can surely be contemporaneously deployed for inclusive learning and inter-humanizing curricular representations that enrich the lives of all learners. The volume, with its counter-absolutist and select socio-cultural reconstructionist intentions, will benefit students and researchers across diverse if topically intersecting disciplines and practices." Dr. Ali A. Abdi, The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
“The cultural heritage of African and Middle Eastern nations has experienced numerous colonizations throughout their extensive histories, culminating in European invasions. The lack of critical thinking, rooted in historical facts, facilitated the development of negative implicit biases against ancient and medieval Indigenous Peoples and religions by the colonizers. Therefore, the significance of this volume lies in elucidating how education emerged as a potent tool for shaping or distorting the cultural identity of each nation. The meticulous editorial efforts of Ehaab D. Abdou and Theodore G. Zervas, alongside their contributing authors, have successfully illuminated the role of Education, employing postcolonial and postmodernist perspectives, in ushering in a new era of knowledge production that advocates tolerance and respect for diversity. The volume is poised to receive acclaim from various disciplines, including Postcolonial and Cultural Studies, Comparative Religious Studies, Comparative Education, and Post-Eurocentric Studies.” Dr. Hany Rashwan, United Arab Emirates University (UAEU), UAE & University of Birmingham, UK
“These two edited volumes present an original and thoughtful approach to teaching practices and curricula worldwide, addressing silences, omissions, and historical injustices against Indigenous Peoples. The contributors aim to heighten critical awareness regarding the prevailing canon of Western wisdom, encouraging educators and students to cultivate inclusive, multi-perspective, and tolerant attitudes. They prompt reflection on ancient, pre-Abrahamic wisdom traditions as a means of overcoming Eurocentrism and reconciling with our past. In a world grappling with multiple crises such as the climate crisis, poverty, war, racism, and authoritarian regimes, schools play a crucial role in educating democratic citizens transcending national borders. Abdou and Zervas provide a work that responds to the demand for an ecumenical pedagogy that both respects and integrates diversity.” Dr. Christina Koulouri, Professor of Modern History, Rector of Panteion University of Social and Political Sciences, Athens, Greece
“In this rich and well researched book, Ehaab Abdou and Theodore Zervas make a compelling case for both the need for, and benefit of, highlighting long-neglected marginalized religious identities in different national communities. Each chapter contributes to the book's premise in its own unique way, providing readers with an engaging variety of methodologies, cultures, data, and analyses. I would particularly recommend it for graduate students (as well as undergraduate students in specialized, upper-level seminars) in diverse disciplines and fields ranging from anthropology, history, Indigenous studies, religious studies, social studies content and methods courses, as well as any other courses addressing diversity and inclusion issues.” Dr. Jeremy Jiménez, State University of New York (SUNY), Cortland, USA
“Ehaab D. Abdou and Theodore G. Zervas have produced a cutting edge, invaluable resource for those committed to the task of decolonizing education. Ancient and Indigenous Wisdom Traditions in African and Euro-Asian Contexts calls for educational and religious institutions to ethically engage both living and extinct wisdom traditions in a way that displaces simplistic binaries serving dominant religions and that exposes dangerous generalizations enabling hegemonies. This important book envisions a pluriversalism in service of the common good that delineates prosocial and inclusive interpretations of the religions for the flourishing of all creation. This incredible resource deserves a wide reading.” Dr. Allen Jorgenson, Martin Luther University College, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
“These two volumes do an excellent job of holding up a problem for careful scrutiny from as many sides as possible. Looking at the various ways that diverse knowledge traditions come into contact, conflict and collaboration in educational settings, these chapters range widely yet also form a coherent conversation that readers are warmly welcomed into.” Dr. Noah W. Sobe, Loyola University Chicago, Illinois, USA
“These volumes provide important and useful contributions to Dr. Pinar’s curriculum theorizing series. Curriculum work is both global in reach and local in its implementation and context. Herein lie some challenges to the field, which can be both too broad and myopic. The two volumes stand together well, with a strong conceptualization, and that demonstrate excellent scholarship.” Dr. Theodore Christou, Ontario Tech University, Oshawa, Ontario, Canada
“The collection of essays found in these volumes arrives at a time when faith in the old social, political, and economic orders are vanishing, yet there seems to be no consensus around where new directions might be found. The strength of these volumes lies in the ecumenical way they respond to our current historical moment. Readers will find deep and considered engagements around what a range of wisdom traditions, including those rooted in Indigenous knowledge systems and pre-Abrahamic traditions, might bring to questions of curriculum and pedagogy. These volumes will be of interest to anyone looking for inspiration around how the project of education might work in service of new ways of storying our place in the world, and our relations with one another and the ecological systems that give us life.” Dr. David Scott, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
