Editor’s note: This wonderful online campaign is now over after more than $30,000 was raised for peace initativies worldwide. The unforgettable film, Beyond Right and Wrong was viewed online by over 60,000 people and watched by up to ten million television viewers. You can still find the film online at this link. In February 2014, filmmaker […]
Archive | Articles
An Introduction to Our Topic: Teaching War/Waging Peace
This fourth issue of Inspire Solutions brings up a central question – how can we talk about war in a way that promotes the goal of peace? By asking this, we are implying that our discussions in both our classrooms and the larger public domain often serve more to legitimize war than promote real questioning. […]
How Do We Teach Israel & Palestine Without Exploding?
If teaching peace requires us at times to confront conflict, Joseph Rosen asks how we can do this without recreating battlefields in our classroom. In his essay, he examines how we can foster real dialogue on a deeply divisive issue, while emphasizing that, “as teachers, we are in a unique position to encourage peace by […]
On Teaching Trauma and Witness
Most of us who teach about war likely worry at times about whether we really should continue to subject our students to such dark subjects. In her course Trauma and Witness, Wendy Eberle-Sinatra encourages her students to recognize that averting their gaze is not the answer by exposing them to disturbing materials about the Holocaust, […]
War, Critical Thinking and Self-Understanding
Every once in a while, one comes across an article that captures the issues at stake so completely that there seems little left to add. Arguably this is what ethicist and educational philosopher Nel Noddings did in her provocative March 2004 Phi Delta Kappen article on how education must encourage students to think critically about […]
Life Lessons from Belfast
Vanessa Gordon reflects on how studying peace and conflict in Belfast during “the Troubles” gave her important insights into privilege, responsibility and an understanding that those living in conflict zones are just like us. ********** Confess: it’s my profession that alarms you. This is why few people ask me to dinner, though […]
A Losing Battle
In this poignant contribution to War Stories:A Dawson Peace Project, Louise Arsenault reminds us of the psychological cost of war in this story of a grandfather she never knew—one of the lucky ones who survived the battle of Vimy Ridge. ****** I never knew my mother’s father because he died in the Veteran’s Hospital in […]
“This Mother’s Day I will be thinking of a white Christmas”
Wars divide families sometimes for decades. In this moving story, Helen Krutz writes of three sisters torn apart by war, but whose children are finally reuniting 70 years later. ********** Early this year, 2014, my sister Anita called with the news that our cousin Jeannie from Australia would be visiting Niagara Falls. Before this, the […]
Spleen à Ramallah
Seeking to experience first-hand thousands of years of history, Dawson student Simon Massicotte travelled to the Middle East to spend some time in Israel and then the West Bank. He writes that his first week in Ramallah was filled with appreciation for the warmth, resilience and cultural richness of the Palestinian people. Slowly though he […]
Confronting War’s Complexities in the Classroom
Zainab Salbi’s reminder that there are two sides to war; a devastating film from the NFB on the aftermath of war; the psychological trauma facing many returning soldiers; an ideal classroom text to introduce war’s complexities; and the increasing global outrage against armed drones. ********** Some Compelling Films and Videos that Reveal War’s Costs […]
The Lifeboat
This newsletter ends with a poem by Kerry-Lee Powell. “The Lifeboat” speaks to a traumatic memory of war that haunted her father, a WWII veteran, who eventually committed suicide. In a soon to be published book of poetry, entitled Inheritance, she examines psychological trauma and the lasting effects of war and violence on those who […]
An Introduction to Our Topic: Us and Them
Our minds categorize, our language defines and distinguishes, and our bodies are primed to fear the stranger; othering, the theme for this third issue of Inspire Solutions, comes all too naturally to us. Indeed, some psychologists suggest that as much as 80% of the population in western democracies display subtle biases against those deemed different […]
The Language of Othering
In this article Louisa Hadley examines how language is built around the very idea of difference, and thus has the power to “other” people. Often, this is done explicitly and intentionally, but, as this essay shows through the history of the word “gay” (and with a look at Ash Beckham’s video, “It’s So Gay”), equally […]
How Categorical Thinking Creates a Biased View of the World
Madeleine Côté examines the extent to which dividing between us and them is a part of who we are. As she examines the psychological literature, she demonstrates how a better understanding of ourselves provides us with important insights into resisting prejudice. ****** Many social scholars would describe the us-versus-them bias as a product of learning. […]
In the Name of Equality?
In this essay, Leila Bdeir examines the current debate over the minority Parti Quebecois’ proposal to ban the wearing of religious symbols by employees of the public sector, drawing out the division within feminism. While some view the banning of the hijab as a means to promote greater equality of the sexes, what is striking […]
A Penny for Your Thoughts
In this personal account, Dipti Gupta discusses her struggle to respond to the bullying of her daughter and the lessons she learned along the way that reinforced her belief that “othering” needs to be confronted right away and become a regular part of our conversations in the classroom. ****** A few years ago, I was […]
Tackling Othering In and Out of the Classroom
Many pedagogical resources exist to help us respond to othering: UnderstandingPrejudice.org offers us tools to recognize our own assumptions about difference; A Class Divided reveals the lessons of Jane Elliott’s blue eyes/brown eyes experiment; living libraries help us see the individuals within the groups we devalue; and a couple of informative videos from our 2011 […]
Many Others
In this very personal essay, Michael Duckett reveals how his experiences with the many others he has encountered through teaching have not only broadened his perspective, but revealed a multitude of stereotypes that need to be challenged. ****** During my decades teaching at Dawson College, I have had wonderful encounters with people of hundreds […]
An Introduction to Our Topic: Violent Video Games
Violent video games is a topic that elicits strong emotions from both gamers and media violence activists, but remains one that resonates little in popular opinion and receives far too little attention in the classroom. The dominant view seems to be that violent video games, like other forms of entertainment violence, are for the most […]
War Is Not a Video Game – Or Is It?
In this essay, Pat Romano examines the blurring of virtual war and real war for both civilians and soldiers, while some Dawson students look behind the façade of the games they play. ****** “(Before) the weapon comes the image. We think others to death before we invent the battle-axe or ballistic missiles with which to […]
Addressing War Games in the Classroom: Some Useful Classroom Resources
David Leonard’s call for a pedagogy of peace; a useful conversation starter; a teacher’s guide to help students think critically “about video games that play at war”; and some useful videos. ****** “Unsettling the Military Entertainment Complex: Video Games and a Pedagogy of Peace” In this provocative essay, David Leonard suggests that most teachers are […]
From Violent Games to Socially Responsible Ones
Some psychological research on the effects of violent video games; a video interview with David Grossman on how understanding the behavior of soldiers in combat reveals the risks of media violence; some important links on socially responsible gaming. ****** The Effects of Violent Video Games Violence is a complex phenomenon with multiple causes; to create […]
NISKA: Honouring Traditional Cree Practices…in a Videogame
In this essay, Michelle Smith explains how indigenous voices are rare in gaming culture and describes her inspiring project to develop a video game exploring the rich and honoured tradition of the Cree’s spring goose hunt. ****** Last April I had the privilege of participating in the spring goose hunt with the family of my […]
An Introduction to Our Topic: Empathy
Welcome to the first issue of Dawson College’s Inspire Solutions e-newsletter. Empathy – the capacity to put ourselves in the other’s shoes, to identify with how they feel, and to understand the world from their point of view – seemed to be the ideal focus for our first issue as it is the basic capacity […]
Can Empathy be Taught?
In this provocative essay, Greta Hofmann Nemiroff discusses how she has managed to create teaching environments conducive to the experience and expression of empathy, while expressing doubts, rooted in her experiences, that have led her to question whether empathy really can be taught. ****** Can empathy be taught? In reaction to our experience of an […]
Can the Study of Science Expand Our Feelings of Empathy?
Daniel Goldsmith presents a passionate and inspired look at the origins of the universe and the biology of human life to demonstrate the interconnections that define our existence, arguing that science is the key to promoting an ethic of understanding, empathy and nonviolence. ****** It’s easy to view the history of science as the progressive […]
An Ethic of Care in Education
Julie Mooney envisions a classroom where care for both our students and ourselves creates a space where the unexpected can arise and our authentic selves can be revealed. She suggests that mindfulness meditation is a useful tool in fostering our openness to others and our world. ****** Salzberg notes the classic definition of compassion […]
Commemorating Genocide and the Problem of Empathy
In this piece, Cory Legassic asks us to think about the stories we use in the classroom and in theatre productions to foster empathy for the suffering of others. With an examination of commemorative projects of the Rwandan genocide, he emphasizes that we must remember that feeling the pain of others does not necessarily imply […]
A Posthuman Approach to Global Politics
While environmental problems are often addressed in the field of political science, the resulting harm to both humans and nature, and the interconnections between them, are often left invisible as the focus is put on the interests of states. Cynthia Martin suggests that empathy can be promoted through a shift in one’s theoretical perspective. ****** […]
Some More Inspiring Thoughts on Empathy
Denise Brend muses on the pain and joy that empathy for one’s students can bring; Karen Ridd passionately talks about how to create a nonviolent classroom that creates the positive relationships and openness we seek; and we present a few other very accessible articles on the human potential for empathy. ****** Empathy and the Self […]