War and Peace Education

Standardizing Citizenship: The Potential Influence of State Curriculum Standards on the Civic Development of Adolescents

“…Despite widespread use of civic republicanism throughout the United States, scholars have attacked the discourse as being politically assimilatory, particularly during times of war and global conflict (Westheimer 2006). Ben Porath (2003 refers to this ultranationalist stance as "belligerent citizenship," which produces undesirable side effects such as unquestioning political loyalty and social alienation of minority groups.…”

Social Studies, Citizenship Education, and the Search for an American Identity: An Argument against a Unifying Narrative

“…Both have potential as unifying agents, and the choice comes down to personal ideology. I feel that civic republicanism has the inclination to assimilate, not unify, thereby creating the potential for an Orwellean state, or at the very least, the polarizing effects of belligerent citizenship (Ben Porath, 2003). While Israeli Jews and Palestinians may have developed solid cultural identities, few would argue that the relationship between the two groups is a healthy one.…”

“…Ben Porath (2003) argues that an overtly patriotic curriculum can lead to what he calls "belligerent citizenship" (p. 245), which is characterized by undesirable side effects, such as alienation of minority groups, particularly during times of war or national crisis. He argues that liberal citizenship education reduces the potentially harmful effects of belligerent citizenship by opening lines of communication and promoting tolerance.…”

Racialized hegemony and nationalist mythologies: representations of war and peace in high school history textbooks, 1945–2005

“…An integral aspect of peace education is a politicized critique and deconstruction of 'commonsensical' identity notions such as the nation, which enable the 'we' and 'they' binaries upon which enemy-making practices prosper (Synott, 2004). Peace education that fails to critically challenge or reflect upon such taken-for-granted structures of hegemonic knowledge production assists in the reproduction of unequal power relations and thus acts in the service of the violence it seeks to end (Ben Porath, 2003). By exploring how national mythologies of Canada as a kinder, more tolerant or less violent national body permeate the narratives of cultural texts (i.e., history textbooks), this paper aims to further understanding of how popular, patriotic and presumably benign representations assist in the hegemonic maintenance of white supremacy by constructing Canada as 'a moral community' that can redeem or rescue other places (Roman & Stanley, 1997, p. 215).…”

“…There is little consensus, however, on where to begin. As a broad and multi-disciplinary field addressing diverse forms of violence within and outside schools, peace education is an amalgamation of a variety of subjects including, but not limited to, conflict resolution, human rights education, anger management, environmental awareness, the promotion of tolerance, the celebration of diversity and the cessation of violence (Ben Porath, 2003;Harris, 2004b). To complicate things further, children already come to school with a vast array of experiences and understandings about violence and how best to deal with it.…”