Unlearning: A messy and complex journey with Canadian Foreign Policy
| Author | Heather A. Smith |
| Published date | 01 June 2017 |
| DOI | 10.1177/0020702017711702 |
| Date | 01 June 2017 |
| Subject Matter | Scholarly Essays |
Scholarly Essay
Unlearning: A messy and
complex journey with
Canadian Foreign Policy
Heather A. Smith
University of Northern British Columbia
Abstract
Adopting a narrative approach, I describe how doing research on the Highway of Tears,
which exposed me to Indigenous method and theory, required of me an unlearning of
core assumptions about who I was as a scholar. In addition, the ongoing process of
unlearning has only reinforced my view that we must be mindful about theways in which
the field of Canadian Foreign Policy (CFP) has the potential to construct images of
Canada that marginalize francophone, feminist, and Indigenous voices and perspectives.
We need to embrace the complexity of our country and tell stories that problematize
dominant, and often simplistic, narratives.
Keywords
Canadian Foreign Policy, feminist, Highway of Tears, Indigenous perspectives, method-
ology, myths
My story, as I will tell it here, is one of unlearning. The idea of ‘‘unlearning’’ comes
from the work of Bina D’Costa. In her reflections on fieldwork in Bangladesh, she
shares with the reader her experiences of having to ‘‘unlearn’’ assumptions she
carried with her into the field. She writes: ‘‘I analyzed my own personal history
and rethought questions concerning gendered knowledge, culture, and survival.
I explored my own location and identity, and had to ‘unlearn’ nationalistic, sym-
bolic, and emotive meanings attached to the history I grew up with.’’
1
On my own journey I have had to unlearn assumptions of my scholarly self, and
this particular unlearning, coupled with experiences in the classroom, has made me
International Journal
2017, Vol. 72(2) 203–216
!The Author(s) 2017
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DOI: 10.1177/0020702017711702
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Corresponding author:
Heather A. Smith, Department of Global and International Studies, University of Northern British
Columbia, 3333 University Way, Prince George, BC, V2N 4Z9, Canada.
Email: heather.smith@unbc.ca
1. Bina D’Costa, ‘‘Marginalized identity: New frontiers in research for IR?’’ in Brooke Ackerly, Maria
Stern, and Jacqui True, eds., Feminist Methodologies for International Relations (New York:
Cambridge University Press, 2006), 149.
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