Voices from the past: on representations of suffering in education

Hållander, Marie

doi:10.1080/17449642.2015.1051853

Cited by 11 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…As one student says, “it's hard to imagine.” Indeed, it is hard, precisely because it is both an affective and cognitive exercise, always situated in specific sociohistorical contexts that may nurture, or not, this capacity. Although literature nurtures this imaginative capacity related to the “the wounds in history” (Hållander, 2015, p. 176; see also Lesnick, 2006; Nussbaum, 2006), there is, however, a philosophical limit to what can be comprehended (Moreiras, 1991), which, in relation to trauma, is the “unsayable or even unthinkable” (Busch, 2020, p. 424; see also Busch & McNamara, 2020). For example, in the following reflection log, one student reveals the unsayable and unthinkable around the Holocaust linguistically using expressions like “I couldn't believe,” “I can't imagine,” “I never thought,” and “why?”.…”

Section: Findings and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Porto

2022

The Modern Language Journal

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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.

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Section: Findings and Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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

Porto

2022

The Modern Language Journal

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“…the ability to imagine the experience of another" (p. 7). Boler (1999), Bridges (2009), Bruner (2002), Kretz (2014) and Hållander (2015) highlight the power of literary reading to deal with difficult content such as human suffering. In language learning, the crucial role of emotions and affects has been emphasized over the years (Bigelow, 2019;Dewaele, 2013Dewaele, , 2014.…”

Section: Relevant Literature and Theoretical Frameworkmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of literature in intercultural language education

Porto¹,

Zembylas²

2022

ICE

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In this article we discuss how the design of a higher education language course can challenge the power of sentimentality in the classroom. In particular, the paper analyses the role of literature in intercultural language education through the lens of affect theory, while focusing on minimizing sentimentality in the classroom, especially when the literary texts used confront students with trauma-related content involving human rights abuse, death and suffering, and trigger discomforting emotions in students such as sadness, anguish, fear and more. We suggest that it is important for educators and students in higher education to recognize the affective and biopolitical dimensions of literature teaching in intercultural language education. This is illustrated through the design of an English language course syllabus in an Argentinian higher education setting. The paper concludes with a discussion of the curricular and pedagogical implications for intercultural language education.

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“…The fact that many survivors feel that justice has not been done in the event of the Grenfell fire is an uncomfortable bench on which to sit for any discussion involving It . Caution around these images is paramount, for in the act of use we are training others into our ways of knowing and discussing phenomena (Hållander, ). Horkheimer alludes to a view of knowledge that challenges rather than describes or looks to the essence of being, ‘Knowledge really concerned with values does not look to higher realms.…”

Section: Where Is the Broken Glass?mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this last respect, Sontag () and Butler (2007) are some of the authors who have contributed in ways I touch upon. Hållander () addresses secondary use to an extent while considering the testimonial representation of suffering in education, for instance when teaching about the Holocaust. This, however, would not constitute secondary use in the sense I mean, but would rather be a repetition of a primary use: informing audiences about the events represented in the image.…”

Section: From Objects Of Use To Objects Of Abusementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Children are often shown photos of past times in order to discuss historical aspects and make comparisons (Pegler‐Gordon, ) which helps children notice and articulate differences and awareness. In this case, teachers become archivists and authors; leaving content intact but changing its original intention to ‘documentary evidence’ (Brink, ) which must, nonetheless, be done cautiously (Hållander, ). Journeying into the future the postman photograph has become another image in a sea of Google images, found under specific usage rights, as provided by Google Tools: ‘Labelled for reuse with modification’, thus finding its way into this article, which has nothing to do with postal recruitment or any type of job or past period in time.…”

Section: From Objects Of Use To Objects Of Abusementioning

confidence: 99%

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Sustaining Hegemony: Educational Use of Photographs Representing Human Distress

Ambrossi¹

2019

Journal of Philosophy of Education

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The use of photography representing human distress in higher education warrants moral attention, owing to the imperative that we avoid objectifying the vulnerable communities who are often represented in those images. Assuming the fundamental Kantian precept that we should always treat others as ends and never merely as means, I extend this precept to include the photographic representation of human distress which involves vulnerable others. This I explore by drawing on the critical theory of Horkheimer and the critical pedagogy of Gottesman. The tendency to decontextualise and depoliticise the act of ‘using’ photographs freely available in the public domain serves to consolidate the status quo and sustain the existing hegemony that allows such use and guides our moral judgements. Derrida, I suggest towards the end of my paper, has some illuminating things to say about this.

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Voices from the past: on representations of suffering in education

Cited by 11 publications

References 18 publications

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

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

The role of literature in intercultural language education

Sustaining Hegemony: Educational Use of Photographs Representing Human Distress

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