Linguistic and Artistic Representations of Trauma: The Contribution of Pedagogies of Discomfort in Language Education

Abstract

This article aims to contribute to recent discussions on pedagogy of pain in world language education. Drawing on the limitations of language to represent and express trauma and pain, we foreground the value of pedagogies at the intersection of language, art, and trauma. It is our contention that a linguistic perspective in and of itself is insufficient and needs to be supported by artistic and multimodal forms of expression as those reinforced by the arts. We describe a study that addressed trauma in a language education context and show how linguistic and nonlinguistic representations of trauma and pain can be productively engaged in formal educational settings using the notion of pedagogy of discomfort. We conclude by highlighting that engaging with the limits of the (un)sayable linked to traumatic and painful events and experiences complementing linguistic with nonlinguistic means can benefit applied linguistics and world language education by bringing attention to the embodied and affective complexities emerging from engagement with trauma.

Pedagogies of discomfort in the world language classroom: Ethical tensions and considerations for educators

“…The concept of pedagogy of discomfort initially emerged from the work of feminist cultural theorist Megan Boler, who examined the histories of emotions in education in relation to issues of race, class, gender, and sexuality in the United States (Boler, 1999;Boler & Zembylas, 2003;Zembylas, 2015;Zembylas & Boler, 2002). Over the years, the concept of pedagogy of discomfort has expanded through the work of other scholars in several areas, including language education (e.g., Austin, 2016;Byram et al, 2023;Cutri & Whiting, 2015;Ennser-Kananen, 2016;Head, 2020;Leibowitz et al, 2010;Ohito, 2016;Osborn, 2016;Porto & Zembylas, 2022a, 2022b, 2022cWeseley et al, 2016;Woodley, 2016;Zembylas & McGlynn, 2012;Zembylas & Papamichael, 2017). The fundamental idea of pedagogies of discomfort is the use of pedagogical activities that move students and teachers outside their comfort zones.…”

“…The course has the following characteristics (Porto & Zembylas, 2022b): It addresses writing as a process using genre‐based pedagogies. It embeds intercultural perspectives. It uses a multiliteracies, multimodal, arts‐based, and translingual approach (Harvey & Bradley, 2023). It incorporates a pluriliteracies content‐and‐language‐integrated‐learning (CLIL) framework using literature as a basis to address citizenship and human rights concerns (Meyer et al., 2015).…”

“…The pedagogical promise of discomfort has garnered increased attention in recent years with growing recognition that unless students are challenged and feel discomforted-especially when they learn about sensitive and difficult social issues (e.g., racism, violence, injustice, and human rights abuse)then personal and social transformation is less likely to happen (Boler, 1999;Boler & Zembylas, 2003;Cutri & Whiting, 2015;Ohito, 2016;Porto & Zembylas, 2022a, 2022b. The approach known as pedagogy of discomfort is a pedagogical intervention whereby students are urged to interrogate their taken-for-granted beliefs, assumptions, and privileges; to pay attention to their own and others' emotions; and to work for personal and social transformation.…”

“…Both of us have done research on pedagogies of discomfort for more than two decades, having opportunities to not only see firsthand their tremendous potential in sociopolitical settings that suffered from massive human rights abuses, trauma, violence, and injustice but also consider the ethical, affective, political, and pedagogical risks and dilemmas emerging from this pedagogical approach. During all this time, our understanding and evaluation of this approach has continuously evolved, particularly in the context of world language teaching, within which the first author has implemented several projects using pedagogies of discomfort in her university classroom in the last 25 years and the second author has acted as a critical friend (Merriam, 1998), contributing etic perspectives and reflections (Porto & Zembylas, 2020a, 2020b, 2022a, 2022b, 2022c. In these projects, we often noticed (or failed to do so until much later) several ethical tensions arising.…”

“…The next stage is not only to express pain (linguistically, artistically, bodily, etc.) but also to take action to respond to pain and other discomforting emotions in sensitive and productive ways (Porto & Zembylas, 2022b; Weseley et al., 2016). Encouraging students to address painful topics and take action beyond the classroom in order to contribute to alleviating suffering in the world is a political act, gives language teaching a social justice foundation (Levine, 2020), and brings about delicate ethical issues (Zembylas, 2015).…”