In the liberal humanitarian academy, my colleagues and I speak about the feminist commitment to non-extractivism: a way of researching, collaborating, or teaching that would respect and value differences and, in turn, reject seeing the world as made of commodities just waiting to be consumed. In May of 2026, as I prepared to attend the 2026 Canadian Society for the Study of Education (CSSE) Conference in Winnipeg, Manitoba, I wanted to experiment with anti-extractivist propositions in a material way. Conferences, in my experience, can become buffets of ideas, where attendees sample from each offerings and carry back with them bits and pieces of others’ work. I didn’t wish to deny the inspirational potential of a conference. In fact, I wanted to embrace it alongside the fragmentary nature of conferencing experience. Therefore, I opted, for the five days of 2026 CSSE conference, to take notes solely by embroidering them on my clothing.
TZG Portfolio 