Teachers as memory makers: Testimony in the making of a new history in South Africa

Dryden‐Peterson, Sarah; Siebörger, Rob

doi:10.1016/j.ijedudev.2005.09.008

Cited by 16 publications

(6 citation statements)

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“…While discussing fractional issues in educational settings might at first appear at cross-purposes with nationalistic educational projects, addressing such conflicts may actually contribute to breaking down barriers between archaeologists and publics. Education is a potential locus for building social trust (Cole and Barsalou 2006), but endeavors such as the search for an 'African' or even 'South African' voice potentially overlook more marginal voices (Grundlingh 2004:212), particularly when many educators can rectify perceived narrative discrepancies with their own testimony and thus highlight omissions (Dryden-Peterson and Siebörger 2006). Offering alternatives to nationally sanctioned narratives does not reproduce the old division between discipline and public, but rather realizes the potential for archaeology as a space of debate and reinterpretation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching Archaeological Pasts in South Africa: Historical and Contemporary Considerations of Archaeological Education

King

2012

Arch

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________________________________________________________________This paper discusses the history and trending of archaeological education in South Africa, a set of frameworks wherein primary and secondary level students instrumentalize archaeology to investigate and debate their pasts. Archaeological education has existed thus far as a conversation among archaeologists and a footnote in the national curriculum. I present the first cohesive treatment of these projects. I examine attendant conflicts and obstacles, drawn partly from my involvement in two South African projects but illustrating issues that I believe have global resonance. I submit that archaeological education entails engagements that hold serious ramifications for archaeological ethics, practice, and epistemology. ________________________________________________________________Résumé: Cette article discute l'histoire et les tendances de l'enseignement de l'archéologie en Afrique du Sud, ainsi qu'un nombre de cadres au sein desquels les élèves du primaire et du secondaire utilisent l'archéologie comme un outil pour découvrir et débattre de leur passé. Jusqu'à présent, l'enseignement de l'archéologie n'a fait l'objet de discussions qu'entre archéologues et n'a constitué qu'un point tout à fait marginal dans les programmes d'enseignement nationaux. Je présente ici le premier traitement systématique de ces projets. J'examine les conflits et les obstacles relatifs à ces projets, tirés en partie de mon engagement personnel au sein de deux programmes sud-africains spécifiques, mais qui, je pense, illustrent des problèmes existant à l'échelle mondiale. J'avance que l'enseignement de l'archéologie a des implications en termes d'engagement qui ont des ramifications sérieuses pour l'éthique, la pratique, et l'épistémologie de la discipline. ________________________________________________________________Resumen: El presente documento trata de la historia y tendencias de la educació n arqueoló gica en Sudáfrica, un conjunto de marcos en los que los estudiantes de nivel primario y secundario instrumentalizan la arqueología para investigar y debatir sus pasados. La educació n arqueoló gica ha existido hasta ahora como una conversació n entre arqueó logos y como una nota a pie de página en el plan de estudios nacional. Presento el primer tratamiento cohesivo de estos proyectos. Examino los conflictos y obstáculos que conlleva, extraídos parcialmente de mi implicació n en dos proyectos sudafricanos pero ilustrando cuestiones que creo que tienen una resonancia mundial. Sostengo que la educació n arqueoló gica conlleva compromisos que poseen serias ramificaciones para la ética, la práctica y la epistemología arqueoló gicas. _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ KEY WORDSArchaeology, Education, South Africa, Ethical practice _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ There is alwa...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Teaching Archaeological Pasts in South Africa: Historical and Contemporary Considerations of Archaeological Education

King

2012

Arch

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“…Through the use of oral history narratives, teachers became creators of knowledge, by relating their own experiences, told from their own point of view. The teacher testimonies became the focal point of dialogic and interpretive classroom practice (Dryden-Petersen & Siebörger, 2006). The approach served to counter apartheid-era historical narratives, and facilitated interpretive perspectives.…”

Section: Commentmentioning

confidence: 99%

The quest for inclusive and transformative approaches to the history curriculum in Botswana

Mafela¹

2021

HEJ

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History has the potential to unify and is often used to inculcate a sense of national identity to foster nation-building. However, this objective can prove difficult to achieve because of the tendency for nations to politicise historical narratives. In Botswana, assimilationist policies have historically privileged the ethnic Tswana historical memory whilst submerging identities and historical experiences of a number of Botswana ethnic minorities. Moreover, the pervasive authoritative national ‘epic’ narratives curtail development of an authentic and empowered historical consciousness, as the latter is premised upon interpretive and dialogic interactions. This paper argues for historical education that is based on negotiated, mutualist, and inclusive approaches. It foregrounds regional particularisation to enable the unearthing and integration of diverse historical narratives to foster civic identity and the necessary preconditions for a shared sense of national identity.

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“…In the literature, one significant discussion of the concept relates to Holocaust education, in which the testifier is a survivor of genocide rather than the regular teacher (see Simon and Eppert, , p. 179). Another theme deals with teachers offering their lived experience of life under apartheid in South Africa, using ‘testimony—to engage students in interpretive acts and to create spaces for the practice of dialogue and dissent’ (Dryden‐Peterson and Siebo, , p. 395). Both of these deal with first‐hand testimony rather than with the notion of the teacher as part of a testimonial chain.…”

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confidence: 99%

Knowledge from Testimony: Benefits and Dangers

Moran¹

2013

J. Philos. Educ.

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Testimony is an important source of knowledge in many contexts, including that of education, but the notion of the teacher as testifier is not often discussed. Since much that is believed by individuals has come to them not from direct experience but by accepting the accounts of others, the trustworthiness of their interlocutors' testimonies, whether these be spoken, textual or electronic in form, is an important factor in determining whether or not they acquire true, justified beliefs. Testimonial trustworthiness is a combination of competence and sincerity, both of which tend to be high when a teacher testifies in her area of expertise. But in the world beyond the classroom there are situations in which the competence or sincerity of the testifier is low, so it is important that the learner acquires an epistemically‐virtuous, well‐attuned disposition towards testimony.

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Teachers as memory makers: Testimony in the making of a new history in South Africa

Cited by 16 publications

References 2 publications

Teaching Archaeological Pasts in South Africa: Historical and Contemporary Considerations of Archaeological Education

Teaching Archaeological Pasts in South Africa: Historical and Contemporary Considerations of Archaeological Education

The quest for inclusive and transformative approaches to the history curriculum in Botswana

Knowledge from Testimony: Benefits and Dangers

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