Paper details
| Paper authors | Jessica Hawkins, Helen Underhill |
| In panel on | The Ethics of Teaching Humanitarian Studies: Classroom, real-world Practice and the Discomfort in between |
| Paper presenter(s) will be presenting | In-Person & Online |
Abstract
This paper draws on Boler and Zembylas’ explorations of Pedagogies of Discomfort to reflect on the teaching of difficult subjects in Humanitarian Studies. We provide examples from our work with undergraduate and post-graduate students of Humanitarianism as they tackle issues such as colonialism, displacement, conflict and violence. We reflect on the use of texts and stories of the lived experience of humanitarian crises, exploring how pedagogical choices shape students’ knowledge and understanding but also, importantly, the ethical landscape of their engagement.
Recognising and working with discomfort as full of pedagogical possibility, we will argue, is critical to ensuring students engage with these challenging issues sensitively and to acknowledging the emotional dimensions of such work. For scholars of teaching and learning, we aim to connect theory and practice through critically engaged reflective practice that ensures difficult subjects such as conflict and violence are not avoided in the classroom environment.
