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Meenakshi Chhabra

Professor, International Higher Education

faculty-meenakshi-chhabra

Professor Meenakshi Chhabra is a graduate of the Intercultural Relations Program at Lesley University, where she also completed her Ph.D in Educational Studies with a focus on youth development in protracted conflict contexts.  As a scholar and practitioner in Peace and Conflict Studies, Meenakshi has been recognized as a Fulbright Specialist in the field. She has also been awarded two Fulbright Senior Scholarships for her research and teaching related to Peace Education.

Her current research focuses on a comparative study examining teaching about historical events of conflict in India, Northern Ireland, and South Africa for which she has received a Fulbright Global Fellowship. Her research interest includes, peace education, youth leadership, and trauma and resilience, in conflict contexts. In addition to research and teaching, Meenakshi has been working with youth and educators in international conflict and post-conflict contexts.

Co-Founder and Co-Chair of Violence Against Women Initiative. 
Violence against Women: Representations, Interpretations, Explorations/Education is a call for action to put a stop to violence against women.

Scholarship

Selected Publications

 

Chhabra, M., Fiore, L., Pérez-Villanueva, S, (2020). Guest Editors’ Introduction. Violence against women: Representations, Interpretations, and Education. In M. Chhabra, L. Fiore, & S. Pérez-Villanueva (Eds.) Special Issue of Violence Against Women. Sage. 

Rossier, J., Aisenson, G., Chhabra, M., Cohen-Scali, V., Di Fabio, A., Heslon, C., Masdonati, J., Ribeiro, M.A., & San Antonio, D.M., (2020). Lifelong learning, counseling and life designing to promote careers for the future in Humanist Futures: Perspectives from UNESCO Chairs and UNITWIN Networks on the futures of education. Paris, UNESCO.

Vital, M. & Chhabra, M. (Fall, 2019). Supporting students from diverse backgrounds in International Education: The role of faculty. 

Chhabra, M. (2018). The WISE model and the role of self as observer in genuine dialogue. In, P.N. Stearns (Ed.) Peace building through dialogue: Education, human transformation, and conflict resolution. The University of Virginia Press.

Chhabra, M. (2018). A human rights and history education model for teaching about historical events of mass violence: The 1947 British India Partition. PROSPECTS, 47(1), 149-162 DOI 10.1007/s11125-018-9424-2

Chhabra, M. (2017). Text and contexts: Pedagogical practices for a history textbook lesson on the 1947 British India Partition. In, H. A. Elmersjö (Ed.), Teaching Rival Histories. UK: Palgrave Macmillan

Cochrane, C., Chhabra, M., Jones, M., D, Spragg., (Eds.), (2017) Culturally Responsive Teaching and Reflection: Promising Practices from the Cultural Literacy Curriculum Institute. New York: Routledge Press

Chhabra, M, (2017) Learning as the other: A lesson in human fragility. In, S. Cochrane, M. Chhabra, M. Jones & D. Spragg, (Eds.), Culturally Responsive Teaching and Reflection: Promising Practices from the Cultural Literacy Curriculum Institute. New York: Routledge Press

Chhabra, M. (in press). Text and contexts: Pedagogical practices for a history textbook lesson on the 1947 British India Partition. In, H. A. Elmersjö (Ed.), Teaching Rival Histories. UK: Palgrave Macmillan

Chhabra, M., (2016) A social-psychological perspective on the teaching of a historical event of mass collective violence: The case of the 1947 British India Partition. In, D. Bentrovato, K.V. Korostelina and M. Schulze (Eds.), History can bite: History education in divided and post-war societies. Göttingen (Germany): V&R Unipress

Chhabra, M. (2016). Mirror images of reciprocal distortions and reciprocal connections: Conversations between Indian and Pakistani youth on the 1947 British India Partition. In, T. Danijela (Ed.) Oral history education: dialogue with the past. 1st ed. Ljubljana: Slovenian National Commission for UNESCO. ISBN 978-961-93589-4-8.

Chhabra, M. (2015) Memory practices in history education of the 1947 British India Partition: Opportunities and challenges to breaching hegemonic remembering.” Journal of Educational Media, Memory, and Society Volume 7, Issue 2, 10–28.

© GEI doi: 10.3167/jemms.2015.070202 ISSN 2041-6938 (Print), ISSN 2041-6946 (Online)

Chhabra, M. Starting with the self, (2015). In, The Olive branch, teachers guide, Seeds of Peace, Special Issue: Making History.

Selected Recent Presentations/Workshops

Voices of Partition, exhibit and conference at Lesley University (2017) in collaboration with 1947 Partition Archive

Trauma and Resilience workshop for Palestinian Educators in the West Bank in collaboration with the Seeds of Peace Educator Program (2017)

Chhabra, M. (2017) Teaching conflicting histories. Presentation at the, William Joiner Institute Educational Project, University of Massachusetts.

Chhabra, M. (2016) Teaching about a historical event of collective violence: Should we bring in Human Rights perspective?  Paper and workshop presented at Georg Arnhold International Summer School on Education for Sustainable Peace. Braunschweig, Germany.

Chhabra, M. (July, 2016). Taking the perspective of researcher and educators: The case of history education in India and Pakistan. Presentation at International Conference on History Education for Peace in East Asia and Europe, Institute of Global Justice, Hague.

Chhabra, M., Jones, M., Spragg, D., & Cochrane, S. (2014). Sharing our learning: Culturally responsive teaching at Lesley. Community of Scholars Day, Lesley University, Cambridge, MA.

Chhabra, M. (September, 2015). History education and memories of conflict. Paper presented at History Educators International Research Network Institute of Education, London.

Chhabra, M. (October, 2015). Self and other- The practice of dignity. Invited speaker for the Annual Ikeda Forum, Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning and Dialogue, Cambridge, MA.

Chhabra, M. (May, 2015). Crossing borders. Invited speaker for Seminar on peace and conflict resolution, Ikeda Center for Peace, Learning and Dialogue, Cambridge, MA.

Chhabra, M. (April, 2015). Understanding the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion through the lens of identity and culture. Workshop presented at Inclusion not Exclusion: Comparative educational perspectives at the heart of sustainable development, 6th annual conference of Gulf Comparative Education Society, Dubai.

Chhabra, M. (March, 2015). Narratives of conflict- Conflict of narratives: Teaching and learning of the 1947 British India Partition. Featured talk at the seminar, Examining narratives of history and identity in schools today: International perspectives on research and educational practices. UMass, Boston.

Chhabra, M. (September, 2014). Stigmatized and marginalized- Voices from a school in Old Delhi. Paper presented at Miranda College, New Delhi, India.

Chhabra, M. (June, 2014). The future of a violent past: Reflections from the field and lessons to learn. Invited speaker to the First Georg Arnhold Summer School on Education for Sustainable Peace. Braunschweig, Germany

Chhabra, M. (March, 2014). What kind of education for all? Paper presented at 58th Annual Conference of the Comparative and International Education Society, Toronto, Canada.

Chhabra, M. (2013). Peace circles and conflict transformation. Workshop presented at,

Conflict as Catalyst, Arts and Health Annual Conference, Lesley University, MA

Chhabra, M. (2013) Collaborative research and activism across borders- Lessons learned. Paper presented at, Research in Collaboration: From Responding Participants Responding Participants to Inquiring Partners, George Hein lecture series, Lesley University, MA

Chhabra, M (2012). Narratives and teaching of a historical event of collective violence: Teaching of the 1947 Partition in Indian high schools. Paper presented at 38th Annual Meeting of The Association for Moral Education (AME) Civility vs Incivility: Respectful disagreement in a divided world. San Antonio, Texas.

Chhabra, M (2012). Reconstructing learner-teacher citizens–Gaps between history curriculum reform and classroom practice in Indian high schools. Paper presented at Institute of Education, Equity and Quality in Education Conference, at the Beijing Normal University, Beijing.

Education

Ph.D., Educational Studies, Lesley University
M.A., Intercultural Relations, Lesley University
B.A., Lady Sri Ram College in New Delhi, India.

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