A Pedagogy of Witnessing

A Pedagogy of Witnessing
Author: Roger I. Simon
Publisher: SUNY Press
Total Pages: 282
Release: 2014-08-01
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1438452691

Explores the curating of “difficult knowledge” through the exhibition of lynching photographs in contemporary museums. This outstanding comparative study on the curating of “difficult knowledge” focuses on two museum exhibitions that presented the same lynching photographs. Through a detailed description of the exhibitions and drawing on interviews with museum staff and visitor comments, Roger I. Simon explores the affective challenges to thought that lie behind the different curatorial frameworks and how viewers’ comments on the exhibitions perform a particular conversation about race in America. He then extends the discussion to include contrasting exhibitions of photographs of atrocities committed by the German army on the Eastern Front during World War II, as well as to photographs taken at the Khmer Rouge S-21 torture and killing center. With an insightful blending of theoretical and qualitative analysis, Simon proposes new conceptualizations for a contemporary public pedagogy dedicated to bearing witness to the documents of racism.

A Pedagogy of Witnessing

A Pedagogy of Witnessing
Author: Roger I. Simon
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Total Pages: 282
Release: 2014-08-18
Genre: Education
ISBN: 1438452713

This outstanding comparative study on the curating of "difficult knowledge" focuses on two museum exhibitions that presented the same lynching photographs. Through a detailed description of the exhibitions and drawing on interviews with museum staff and visitor comments, Roger I. Simon explores the affective challenges to thought that lie behind the different curatorial frameworks and how viewers' comments on the exhibitions perform a particular conversation about race in America. He then extends the discussion to include contrasting exhibitions of photographs of atrocities committed by the German army on the Eastern Front during World War II, as well as to photographs taken at the Khmer Rouge S-21 torture and killing center. With an insightful blending of theoretical and qualitative analysis, Simon proposes new conceptualizations for a contemporary public pedagogy dedicated to bearing witness to the documents of racism.

Museums and the Act of Witnessing

Museums and the Act of Witnessing
Author: Ross J. Wilson
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 283
Release: 2021-10-20
Genre: Art
ISBN: 100046329X

Museums and the Act of Witnessing examines how representations of traumatic histories and the legacies of the twentieth century in museums and heritage sites across the world shape political, social and cultural identities. Drawing on an interdisciplinary analysis of a variety of museum exhibitions around the globe, the book demonstrates how the narrative of ‘witnessing’ has shaped representation of war, genocide, repression and violence. Revealing that this form of presentation is inherently Western in its origins and nature, Wilson goes on to argue that witnessing the past is to colonise the future, as we project a certain view of the events of the past onto the present. Detailing the character, content and meanings of representation that focus on the traumatic events of the twentieth century, the book demonstrates the way in which visitors are cast as ‘witnesses’ and questions what the true purpose of witnessing really is. Museums and the Act of Witnessing draws attention to the fact that we have inherited a distinct, and often limited, mode of seeing the past and considers how we can more effectively engage with the past in the present. The book will be of interest to academics and students engaged in the study of museums, history, sociology, conflict, politics and memory.

The Vulnerable Heart of Literacy

The Vulnerable Heart of Literacy
Author: Elizabeth Dutro
Publisher: Teachers College Press
Total Pages: 145
Release: 2019
Genre: Education
ISBN: 0807778087

What is trauma and what does it mean for the literacy curriculum? In this book, elementary teachers will learn how to approach difficult experiences through the everyday instruction and interactions in their classrooms. Readers will look inside classrooms and literacies across genres to see what can unfold when teachers are committed to compassionate, critical, and relational practice. Weaving her own challenging experiences into chapters brimming with children’s writing and voices, Dutro emphasizes that issues of power and privilege matter centrally to how attention to trauma positions children. The book includes questions and prompts for discussion, reflection, and practice and describes pedagogies and strategies designed to provide opportunities for children to bring the varied experiences of life, including trauma, to their school literacies in positive, meaningful, and supported ways. “This stunning book about trauma interrogates the very notion. Dutro excels at interweaving her stories with those of teachers and students and at challenging readers to find their way into the fabric. I recommend this book to teachers so that they might accept her challenge to explore and understand the importance of both witnessing and testimony in relation to trauma in literacy curriculum and pedagogy.” —Mollie Blackburn, The Ohio State University

Witnessing the Disaster

Witnessing the Disaster
Author: Michael Bernard-Donals
Publisher: Univ of Wisconsin Press
Total Pages: 324
Release: 2003-12-15
Genre: History
ISBN: 0299183637

Witnessing the Disaster examines how histories, films, stories and novels, memorials and museums, and survivor testimonies involve problems of witnessing: how do those who survived, and those who lived long after the Holocaust, make clear to us what happened? How can we distinguish between more and less authentic accounts? Are histories more adequate descriptors of the horror than narrative? Does the susceptibility of survivor accounts to faulty memory and the vestiges of trauma make them any more or less useful as instruments of witness? And how do we authenticate their accuracy without giving those who deny the Holocaust a small but dangerous foothold? These essayists aim to move past the notion that the Holocaust as an event defies representation. They look at specific cases of Holocaust representation and consider their effect, their structure, their authenticity, and the kind of knowledge they produce. Taken together they consider the tension between history and memory, the vexed problem of eyewitness testimony and its status as evidence, and the ethical imperatives of Holocaust representation.

Curating Difficult Knowledge

Curating Difficult Knowledge
Author: E. Lehrer
Publisher: Springer
Total Pages: 247
Release: 2011-10-04
Genre: Art
ISBN: 0230319556

This volume inscribes an innovative domain of inquiry, bringing museum and heritage studies to bear on questions of transitional justice, memory and post-conflict reconciliation. As practitioners, artists, curators, activists and academics, the contributors explore the challenges of bearing witness to past conflicts.

Mediating Learning in Higher Education in Africa

Mediating Learning in Higher Education in Africa
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 255
Release: 2021-05-25
Genre: Education
ISBN: 9004464018

This book enters the discourse of the scholarship of teaching and learning in higher education in Africa. The book provides critical insights comprising topical themes from transformation, citizenship and gender, researching to ethical perspectives of teaching and learning.

Explorations of Childhood

Explorations of Childhood
Author: Elena Xeni
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 122
Release: 2019-01-04
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 1848884117

With input from authors exploring aspects of the study of childhood from a multi-disciplinary angle, Explorations of Childhood(s), is a must-read book for anyone with an interest in the child and childhood.

Between Witness and Testimony

Between Witness and Testimony
Author: Michael Bernard-Donals
Publisher: SUNY Press
Total Pages: 216
Release: 2001-10-19
Genre: Literary Criticism
ISBN: 9780791451496

Examines the ethical and pedagogical stakes of representing the Holocaust in books, films, and museum exhibits.