Stewart (2015)

Author

Stewart, P.

Year

2015

Title

Indigenous Architecture through Indigenous Knowledge : Dim sagalts’apkw nisim̓ [Together we will build a village]

University

University of British Columbia

Discipline (uncoded)

Educational Studies, Curriculum Studies and Architecture

Macrostructure

Analogous to topic-based

Proposed Area of Unconventionality
(Tardy, 2016)

Modality, Rhetorical aims and strategies, Linguistic & textual form

Description and other notes

Eschews punctuation, meant to mimic spoken Nisga’a language and oral knowledge. Also “the first known research in Canada that privileges the use of Indigenous Knowledge in the design process by Indigenous architects” (abstract). In addition to playing with punctuation and incorporating Nisga’a, Stewart incorporates other documents one might not expect to see, such as a copy of Stewart’s response to the UBC Research Ethic’s Board rejection.

(Proposed) Degree of separation or connection between atypical or unconventional component(s) and conventional or written component(s)

Separate. Atypical components positioned as separate from the conventional components. Distance enacted on purpose.

(Proposed) Type of relationship construed between atypical or unconventional component(s) and conventional or written component(s)

Influenced. The atypical component is construed as an independent (sovereign) part of the overall written component and influences how the conventional components are presented (e.g., as intrusions, requirements, hinderances, metaphors for/enactments of settler-colonialism).

Notes/Reasoning

*Inverting question* Breaks it down for the reader (firmly but gently) in the preface. Includes a table with “navigational aids” intended to signal certain meanings. For example, the backward slash – \ – is used to “emphasize incompatibility (p. xii). Conventional elements appear almost as intrusions. This is consistent with Stewart’s goal of asserting Indigenous knowledge as both valuable in its own right and frequently (always?) incompatible with colonial education systems. Stewart writes: “I made concessions during the writing of this dissertation, recognizing the concessions the university is making and the risk the university is taking in supporting this dissertation. As you will have noticed, or if you have not, please note that the Title Page, Abstract and References are all written in standard or conventional academic English. In order to address those persons without the time to invest in reading this dissertation, I have decided to insert a Précis [summary] in standard or conventional academic English at the beginning of each adawaak [story / chapter] that will outline/summarize the main points contained in the adawaak [story / chapter] (L.Walker, personal communication, February 5, 2015). This Preface also started out in standard and conventional academic English but it will soon begin to transform. For the writing style to not follow standard or conventional academic English, the formatting and punctuation or lack thereof, has grown out of my need to privilege Indigenous knowledge in resistance to the colonizing provincial education system that continue to traumatize indigenous peoples in this province.” (p. xi). And: “All research, writing and formatting was done by me as the author. All dissertation elements required by the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies at the University of British Columbia have been included in this dissertation” (p. ix).

Discipline 2 (coded)

Interdisciplinary Studies

Discipline Grouping (coded)

ARCH

Source

Word of Mouth