Using Testimonial Response to Frame the Challenges and Possibilities of Risky Historical Texts

Abstract

Literature that vividly and explicitly describes (often in the form of testimonies from one or more characters) traumatic and/or catastrophic events of human history poses particular challenges for readers. This article proposes testimonial response as one approach to responding to these ''risky historical texts.'' By way of introducing testimonial response, the article outlines a three-part framework. After considering how testimonial response extends and complements other traditional approaches to literature response to give readers a fuller experience of risky historical literature, the article applies the framework of testimonial response to the picture book, From Slave Ship to Freedom Road. The article concludes with implications for bringing risky historical literature and testimonial response into the classroom.

Through Lines: Exploring Past/Present Connections in Middle Grade Novels

“…At the heart of any political issue there is a person who is not very different from us. (p. 338) When teaching from a critical standpoint, it is not enough for students to make intellectual connections between circumstances faced by people of different times; rather, they must develop empathy toward characters if they are to become motivated to work toward positive change (Damico & Apol, 2008). The instructional tools presented here only scratch the surface of what talented teachers invested in critical literacy can do to help students to bridge the knowledge gap between past and present.…”

“…Historical fiction can help dismantle the individualistic framing of racism as a personal character flaw rather than a societal system that needs to be faced collectively (Damico & Apol, 2008). For middle grade readers, pairing historical and contemporary novels, which have evolved in recent years to include "multiple narrators and traditionally marginalized perspectives" (Serafini & Blasingame, 2012, p. 146), can reveal through lines that may prevent the internalization of such a fallacy of disconnection.…”

Do Black Lives Matter? Using Young Adult Literature in Preservice Urban Education to Interrogate Antiblackness

“…To address question #1, we coded all 57 journal responses for instances of what Damico & Apol (2008) call "historical engagement." Historical engagement refers to how readers connect events of the past to the present, and understand that past events are not deemed distant and disconnected from contemporary social issues.…”

“…Drawing on the work of Damico & Apol (2008) and critical race theory (CRT), we define Sharon Draper's Copper Sun as a "historical witness" novel and counter-story. "Historical witness" texts are described as texts that "vividly describe, often in the form of testimonies from one or more characters, traumatic if not catastrophic events of human history such as genocide, war, and slavery--events that are linked to systemic forces and factors" (Damico & Apol, 2008, p. 142).…”

Teachers’ Self-Censorship of Children’s Literature in Texas—What’s Legislation Got to Do With It?

“…The question of how to describe children's literature that lends itself to discussions of social issues is contentious. One line of scholarship has termed these risky texts (Angleton, 2021;Damico, 2012;Damico & Apol, 2008;Harste, 2000;Leland & Harste, 2001;Lewison et al, 2015;Simon & Armitage-Simon, 1995;Wessel-Powell & Bentley, 2022). The term risky text reinforces that no text is ever neutral (Vasquez et al, 2019) and, as such, that any text could potentially lead to discomfort or backlash from a community it misrepresents or excludes.…”