Knowledging across life’s curriculum

About me

First and foremost I am an information ‘junkie’, who knows a lot about little and a little about a lot. I’ve made it my life’s work to connect the dots, and perhaps one day see the bigger picture. And in so doing I’ve added the following practices and roles :

I am a PhD student in the department of educational technology at Concordia University in Montreal. I presently work in social services.

I manage an online community of practice of international professionals and student specialized in the Creative Arts Therapies. I recently closed a private practice working with children and adults to focus on my studies.

• I’ve earned a certificate in Human Relations (use to be APSS)

• A BFA in art education (from Concordia)

• An MA in art therapy (from Concordia)

• Post graduate mental health training (APPQ, Gouin, Argyle and various others)

• A graduate diploma in public management (from École d’Administration Publique or ENAP) interest in professional development

In a former life I collected:

• Fashion design degree

• A theatre design degree

I’ve contributed to the Slowfood Quebec’s website, the philosophy of slow is a counter-force to the the fast and furious barely thinking world we live in. (See the slow-city movement also)

And to the Association des Art-Therapeutes du Quebec or AATQ website. I also established a number of their communication tools in the form of various egroups and community spaces on the web.

I’m a strong believer in comprehensive information and knowledge management strategies which also informs my research interests at this point in time. These can be understood as knowledge development strategies for professionals taking into account how identities are shaped and influence knowledge cultures. The disembedded realms of virtual communities & networks of practice are prominent in my meaning making interests.

On the personal side:

I have a grown son who works as a computer network specialist, designs networked games in his spare time and manages online gamer forums with a firm hand. The knowledge he brings to identity morphing and construction and virtual community lives, complements my own experience of communities and networks that are identified with work practices. He presently lives and works in Paris, France.

I am also French and writing in English continues to be a point of identify confusion (perhaps a remnant of our political status here in Quebec). Choosing English is a matter of practicality and wider audiences. French on the other hand provides depth and breath, poetics and aesthetics, nuance and color, that I unfortunately do not master as well in English. A good book on the subject is: Courtivron, Isabelle (ed.)(2003). Lives in translation: bilingual writers on identity and creativity.New York, NY:Palgrave, Macmillan

I paint, draw, play with digital imagery when I have a minute (or procrastinate!), use to design clothes and furnishings, think aesthetic considerations are fundamental to the enrichment of living in the world.

I enjoy cooking. People around me seem to think that what I make is pretty good (I like my own cooking B-)). I enjoy the written word tremendously, and well written narratives, which I try to indulge in whenever I can (in both languages).

Otherwise I’m a compulsive learner, who as my son as cleverly remarked, am driven which keeps me on my toes and seemingly on the younger side of the energy divide.

That is moi for now, and at the present moment.

Francine Lévesque