Fookn Conversation - Talking About “Academicky” Stuff
Fookn Conversation - Talking About “Academicky” Stuff
Nicholas Ng-A-Fook
Dr. Matthew Keynes and Dr. James Miles
1 hour 1 minutes Posted May 20, 2026 at 10:45 am.
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Show notes
In Episode 72, Dr. Nicholas Ng-A-Fook hosts Dr. James Miles and Dr. Matthew Keynes to discuss their new co-authored book, Education and Historical Justice: Redress, Reparations, and Reconciliation in the Classroom. Drawing on comparative case studies from Canada, Australia, Northern Ireland, and South Africa, their scholarship examines how education systems, teachers, and students are increasingly being called upon to respond to histories of harm, violence, colonialism, and injustice within what they describe as an emerging “age of apology.” Our conversation explores difficult histories, truth and reconciliation, historical consciousness, collective responsibility, and the tensions surrounding historical justice education in liberal democratic settler states. Dr. Miles and Dr. Keynes reflect on their respective journeys through history education research in Canada and Australia, their collaborative writing process during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the challenges of thinking beyond simplified narratives of guilt, empathy, and reconciliation. We also discuss contemporary struggles over curriculum politics, residential school denialism, public memory, redress, reparations, transitional justice, and the possibilities and limitations of history education in confronting misinformation, settler colonial violence, and democratic uncertainty.