Paulina Johnson, PhD, MA, BA

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Arts - Sociology Dept

Pronouns: She, her, hers

Contact

Assistant Professor, Faculty of Arts - Sociology Dept
Email
prjohnso@ualberta.ca
Phone
(780) 492-5234
Address
4-20 Tory (H.M.) Building
11211 Saskatchewan Drive NW
Edmonton AB
T6G 2H4

Overview

Area of Study / Keywords

Indigenous Research and Methods Decolonization Indigenization Indigenous Feminism Anti-Racism Colonialism Racism Relationality Reciprocity Settler Relations Treaty Indigenous Law and Governance Trauma Inequality Systemic injustice


About

Dr. Paulina Johnson, Sîpihkokîsikowiskwêw, Blue Sky Woman, is Nêhiyaw, Four-Spirit, and a citizen of Nipisihkopahk, Samson Cree Nation, in Maskwacis, AB. She is the daughter of Paul and Luci Johnson, and granddaughter of Chris Johnson, Ginger Wildcat, late Fred Hodgson, and late Grace Swampy.

She completed her Ph.D. in Anthropology with Dr. Regna Darnell and Haudenosaunee Scholar Dr. Susan Hill and her MA in History at Western University in London, Ontario. She is also an alumna of the University of Alberta where she completed her BA in Anthropology and History with Distinction.

Currently, she is the one of the Co-Research Directors at the Canadian Mountain Network (CMN) alongside Dr. Murray Humphries from McGill University. CMN is housed at the UofA and will transition to Braiding Knowledges Canada (BKC) in July of 2024 where she will continue with Dr. Humphries to braid Indigenous and Western Knowledge Systems together.

Dr. Johnson/Dr. J is also an Adjunct Professor with the Faculty of Engineering in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. 


Research

Her current research is focused on the importance of Indigenous womxn’s voices and matriarchal resistance to oppressive systems that are embedded in our settler colonial societies and institutions. Her forthcoming work details systemic injustices that Indigenous womxn face in colonial institutions drawing on the experience of her late grandmother and is written as a liberation narrative focused on Nehiyaw intellectual traditions and mechanisms of protection and resistance.. 


Teaching

Dr. Johnson utilizes her classroom to reflect her Nehiyaw upbringing by providing story narratives and her lived experiences to her students. Her Indigenous pedagogies are front and center in her teaching practices as her aim is not only to educate you but to shape you to see the bigger picture and situate yourself in the classroom experience; a fundamental aspect of Indigenous education and methodological practice.

Announcements

Read her contribution to Electric Marronage titled "To my One Who Sits On the Rainbow" a letter of love to mosom, her grandfather, on the Second National Day of Truth and Reconciliation: https://www.electricmarronage.com/electricblog/2022/9/30/one-who-sits-on-the-rainbow-a-letter-to?fbclid=IwAR2VOtheBXwr7F2CkWfHS_XwdIjBTVfDWfRnjrLEX1gTaoc3cFlpY8EBu5E

Listen to her latest work on "The Auntie Is In" Podcast on Spotify and give us a follow on instagram @the.auntie.is.in! 

Courses

SOC 402 - Topics in Sociology

Prerequisite: SOC 100 or consent of the instructor. Note: Consult the Department for any additional prerequisites. Course may be taken more than once if topic(s) vary.


WGS 480 - Indigenous Feminisms

Draws on Indigenous theoretical frameworks, epistemologies, community expertise and knowledge to understand Indigenous women's participation in political movements and land and environmental activism. Students are strongly urged to complete 3 units in NS before registering in WGS 480. Prerequisite: Any 100 or 200 level WGS course, or consent of department.


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