Navigating the "delicate relationship between empathy and critical distance": Youth literacies, social justice and arts-based inquiry. Issue 3 (5th December 2016)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Simon, Rob; Evis, Sarah; Walkland, Ty; Kalan, Amir; Baer, Pamela
• Is Part Of: English teaching. Volume 15:Issue 3(2016)
• Page Start: 430
• Page End: 449
• Publication Date: 2016-12-05
• Subjects: Critical literacy -- Arts-based research -- Collaborative inquiry -- Curriculum studies -- Social justice education -- Youth literacies; English language -- Study and teaching -- Periodicals; 428.0071
• DOI: 10.1108/ETPC-09-2016-0108
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2059-5727

Abstract

Abstract : Purpose: This paper features artwork and artists' statements by middle school students who participated in a research collaboration that involved co-authoring critical literacy curriculum for Art Spiegelman's graphic novel Maus: A Survivors Tale (1986) with teacher candidates from the University of Toronto. Design/methodology/approach: Youth explored personal and social justice issues through writing and artwork produced in response to Maus . In the process, they navigated what historian Dominick LaCapra (1998) has referred to as the "delicate relationship between empathy and critical distance" (pp. 4-5), between closely identifying with the agonizing experiences Spiegelman documents and using their inquiries to cultivate more critical positionalities and assume activist stances on historical and contemporary social justice issues. Findings: As they describe in their brief statements included alongside their artwork, creating these projects allowed youth to bear witness to a terrible moment in human history and to envision how they can make a difference in their own communities. Originality/value: This work suggests how the arts can be mobilized in critical literacy as a vehicle to interrogate difficult historical moments and multifaceted identity issues.