(2024). Do Holocaust Education Mandates Work?. Phi Delta Kappan, v106 n4 p42-47. In the context of both rising antisemitism in the U.S. and the increasing popularity of states mandating the teaching of the Holocaust in K-12 schools, William Smith asks, are such legislative mandates effective? Can states achieve ambitious goals like preventing future genocides and reducing antisemitism by requiring that students learn about the Holocaust? He reviews the limited research on Holocaust education mandates, and Holocaust education generally, with analysis suggesting that such curriculum mandates may not be having the desired effects on student learning. He poses theories about the factors limiting the effectiveness of these mandates…. [Direct]
(2024). A Colonial Legacy of Cultural and Epistemic Genocide: Limited Education Access, Family Dislocation and Premature Death of Indigenous Youth in Northern Ontario, Canada. Whiteness and Education, v9 n1 p36-50. Using a philosophical framework of epistemic injustice and epistemic resistance (Fricker, 2007; Medina, 2013), we examine the recent deaths of nine Indigenous youths in a Northern Ontario city, Thunder Bay. We first document various reports and then we interrogate the impact of this violence on Indigenous communities, considering the egregious impact of epistemic injustice as it plays out on a personal and on a systemic and structural level. We theorise ways to counterbalance this systemic injustice and highlight the current efforts of epistemic resistance within the Indigenous community. We close with discussion around historical responses to this long history of cultural and epistemic genocide and how we can interrogate the structural construction of epistemic injustice and further promote epistemic resistance…. [Direct]
(2021). Teaching about Sexual Violence as Part of Mass Atrocity Crimes: Model International Criminal Court Non-Formal Educational Program. Review of Education, Pedagogy & Cultural Studies, v43 n2 p69-84. The Model International Criminal Court (MICC) was launched in 2005 and has been pushing boundaries of non-formal education. Topics such as crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide were adapted to a methodology and pedagogy suitable for high school students. This non-formal education project has also sparked successful spin-off educational programs such as the Model International Criminal Court Western Balkans (MICC WeB). This paper engages with the subject of teaching about sexual violence within the context of educating youth about crimes against humanity, war crimes and genocide through exploring teachers' and students' reaction to these topics within the MICC educational program context. It also explores history teachers' readiness and critical pedagogy ability to use the MICC educational materials related to sexual violence in their history education curricula within the official educational systems in various countries throughout Europe…. [Direct]
(2017). Teaching the Holocaust as a Cautionary Tale. Social Studies, v108 n4 p129-135. Teaching about the Holocaust as an atrocity of the 1940s misleads students into thinking that it is a genocide occurred, that the world agreed "Never Again," and that the United Nations would prevent future genocides. With genocides in Rwanda, Srebrenica, and Syria occurring in the years since the Holocaust, teachers need to use the Holocaust as a vehicle for teaching about and preventing future genocides. Five main points need to be taught to students, all of which can be shown in the Holocaust and other genocides, specifically: (1) the meaning of genocide and problems surrounding its early identification; (2) the idea that governments are not always ethical or moral; (3) the effectiveness of propaganda; (4) dehumanization; and (5) using one's voice to stand up against injustice…. [Direct]
(2021). Analyzing Diasporic Pedagogical Representations of Historical Violence against Women: The Case of Armenians of the Levant. Review of Education, Pedagogy & Cultural Studies, v43 n2 p165-184. This article focuses on the Middle and High school level history education of a particular minority group within the Middle East, the Armenian diaspora. In this analysis, the target group includes the third, and sometimes the fourth, generation of refugees, therefore, these students are not only entirely Lebanese, but they have also no other understanding of homeland. While portraying a feminist and ideologically fueled narrative, the historical narrative abstains from mentioning any variations of sexual violence against women. While genocide studies have become a fundamental core of Armenian history taught in Middle and High school, it has adopted a two-dimensional view of women. The author proposes the alternation of the current Middle and High school curricula of Armenians of the Middle East in order to portray degrees of sexual violence through genocide studies, without traumatizing the student. The proposed tools for enhancing the lesson plan of the respective classrooms ought… [Direct]
(2024). Guilt, Complicity, and Responsibility for Historical Injustice: Towards a Pedagogy of Complex Implication. Pedagogy, Culture and Society, v32 n3 p619-635. Recent global reckonings with structural racism and histories of colonialism, slavery, and genocide continue to raise questions about how educators should engage students in questions of historical responsibility for difficult pasts. Recent educational scholarship has explored this issue largely through the lens of concepts such as collective guilt and complicity. This article re-evaluates the concepts of guilt, complicity, and historical responsibility in relation to teaching and learning difficult histories and group identity. Michael Rothberg's concept of "the implicated subject" is offered an as alternative approach for thinking about historical responsibility. The article argues for the development of a pedagogy of 'complex implication' and 'differentiated solidarity' which provides a more nuanced, intersectional, and multidirectional way to teach and learn about interlocking histories of suffering and injustice…. [Direct]
(2025). In Search of Identity: The Armenian Orphans' Magazine "Tun". History of Education, v54 n1 p96-116. During the Armenian Genocide, the Ottoman Empire's Young Turk government forcibly transferred and assimilated thousands of Armenian children into Turkish society. After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in the First World War, Armenian and international bodies and individuals began to liberate the transferred children. However, they encountered resistance to child identification from both Turkish authorities and some of the children themselves. This study examines the efforts to bring back those child-survivors, many of whom, after being rescued, found it difficult to accept their Armenian identities following their traumatic ordeal. To analyse in what ways the liberated child-survivors were educated, this study investigates "Tun" magazine, prepared by the orphans of the Jbeil orphanage, and presents its history. "Tun" is a unique example of a student press that was guided by teachers, with the aim of reinforcing "Armenianness" in the students and… [Direct]
(2019). What Are the Qualities of Good Citizenship in Post-Genocide Rwanda? High School Teachers Speak through a Q-Methodological Approach. Interchange: A Quarterly Review of Education, v50 n4 p461-499 Nov. Teachers play a crucial role in the political socialization of adolescents. Using Q-Methodology, we explored high school teachers' conceptions of good citizenship in post-genocide Rwanda. Teachers ranked 50 statements, describing a 'good citizen', on a 9-column grid, anchored by 'least important citizenship behaviour' and 'most important citizenship behaviour'. The four perspectives that emerged viewed good citizenship as (a) being mindful or considerate of the 1994 genocide perpetrated against the Tutsi and promoting unity as well as reconciliation among Rwandans; (b) being morally upright and demonstrating a strong sense of patriotism; (c) being politically enthusiastic; and (d) promoting justice. The study argues for a shift towards more critical forms of citizenship. It also advocates the reinforcement of democratic and participatory skills among teachers…. [Direct]
(2023). Looking without Seeing: Visual Literacy in Light of Holocaust Photography. Journal of Educational Media, Memory and Society, v15 n1 p147-165 Mar. The Holocaust was one of the most photographed genocides of the twentieth century. Since 1945, images from the liberation of the camps were used as shaming and shocking instruments of visual denazification. Many decades later, these icons are still used in educational contexts such as school textbooks, exhibitions, and documentaries and are presented almost exclusively as mere illustrations and not as independent sources. By approaching the image as a source, this contribution reflects on the different ways of looking at and seeing Holocaust photography. By moving from a purely emotional and illustrative approach to a more integrated visual approach, the complex dynamics underlying the Holocaust and the timeless mechanisms of totalitarianism (victimization, perpetration, and implication) can be better understood…. [Direct]
(2024). Regenerative and Restorative Pedagogy: The Foundation of a New Contract for Cognitive Justice. Prospects, v54 n2 p441-449. Regenerative and restorative pedagogy refers to a set of methods and knowledge aimed at regenerating ourselves, regenerating others, and repairing the past and present with a view to human, ecological, and planetary sustainability. It aims to reduce the processes of destructing the self, other humans, and non-humans. The main role of this alternative and transgressive pedagogy is to counter the neoliberal approach of hegemonic education, which contributes to destroying knowledge (epistemicide), identities (identicide), cultures (ethnocide), ethnic groups (genocide), natural environments (ecocide), and animals (zoocide). To achieve these goals, regenerative and restorative education aims to be transdisciplinary; in other words, to transcend the boundaries between disciplines. Regeneration and reparation in education require the creation of citizens capable of understanding that the whole world is one country, and that, wherever we may be, we all share a common destiny…. [Direct]
(2018). The History Syllabus in Post-Genocide Rwanda. Cogent Education, v5 n1 Article 1541495. This case study examined the questions: How are relations between Hutus and Tutsis portrayed in recent History syllabi in post-genocide Rwanda, and how may the narrative about these relations affect efforts towards educating for peace? The findings were based on a content analysis of four History syllabi for Ordinary and Advanced Levels published by the Rwanda Education Board between 2008 and 2015. These findings indicate that the syllabi promulgate an ethno-nationalist narrative of Rwanda's past. In this paper, we highlight stark contradictions in the syllabi between the goals of reconciliation, unity and critical thinking and the official narrative of blame for the genocide. Although the steadying hand of the ruling party has been credited with much of the success achieved in contemporary Rwanda, this study raises concern about the government's omnipresent role in shaping educational discourse. The final discussion presents the possibility for teachers to contribute to change by… [Direct]
(2019). Providing Asset-Based Support for Asian American Refugees: Interrogating Transgenerational Trauma, Resistance, and Affective Capital. New Directions for Higher Education, n186 p37-47 Sum. Instead of suppressing the anger and pain associated with war and genocide, Asian American refugees in higher education can be supported to engage their families' traumas to help them better navigate college life…. [Direct]
(2024). Pausing and Contributing towards Indigenous Futures: A Pedagogical Reflection on College History Classrooms. Curriculum Inquiry, v54 n2 p182-201. In this article, I explore a pedagogical approach grounded in Native feminist theories and their commitments to place, to relations, to lands, and to more sustainable, just futures. In approaching college history instruction from a place informed by Native feminist teachings, I offer that the college-level classroom can be a space for students to imagine and work towards anticolonial futures as they process hard histories from where they stand. To do so, I draw on self-reflection and an examination of student reflections on their relationships with tribal sovereignty, their perceptions of ethical commitments to Indigenous people, and their understandings of academic collaborations toward Indigenous priorities. This analysis reveals how a pedagogy that embraces "pausing" and contributions to Native nation building can create a classroom space for students to process histories of genocide, build habits of relationality and civic engagement, and work toward more just futures…. [Direct]
(2021). Resistance, Struggle and Protest against Genocide and Incarceration: The Case of "Talitha Koum — Someone Lied!" and "1983 — Years Before and After". Research in Drama Education, v26 n3 p427-441. This article positions theatre as a site for victims and activists to action their resistance against Gukurahundi related incarceration and human rights abuse perpetrated in the 1980s. Through case studying Talitha Koum and 1983, we examine resistance strategies deployed through theatre performance to expose Gukurahundi violence, invigorate debate and hold public officials accountable. We submit that theatre performance offers a 'liberation' of cultural memory from state regimes of censorship and suppression. We observe that performances served as a form of agentic resistance against the original acts of violence perpetrated during the genocide, and the subsequent 'psychological incarceration' experienced by victims…. [Direct]
(2022). Exploring How Propaganda Constructs the Enemy. Social Education, v86 n6 p407-412 Nov-Dec. Exposure to propaganda can lead to biased attitudes that change the way people speak and act, sometimes without their conscious awareness. Propaganda has historically contributed to systemic discrimination, bias-motivated violence, and even genocide. By comparing historic and contemporary propaganda, students come to understand how people's values can be hijacked through persuasive appeals that activate strong emotions, use oversimplified information, and attack opponents. Teaching students how to identify propaganda is an essential life skill in combating dehumanizing language, ideas, and actions in all its forms. The activities in this article can guide students to confront historic examples of harmful propaganda and help them understand the problem and danger of modern stereotypes…. [Direct]