Emotions, affects, and trauma in classrooms: Moving beyond the representational genre

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to draw together and engage some of the most prominent themes throughout the literature on emotions, affects, and trauma in classrooms: the representation of trauma in classrooms and its risks; the body as a part of traumatic experience and how it may be engaged pedagogically; and the un/making of affective communities as pedagogical spaces that can be transformative. It is argued that the prevalent representational account of trauma in classrooms imposes certain constraints that frame the pedagogical work that may be conducted. New theoretical and research developments in the affective turn about the implications of emotions, affects, and trauma for the body and politics, pose serious challenges to the representational genre. It is suggested that reparative pedagogies grounded in new theoretical perspectives may invoke critical reflection and transformative action in ways that expose and reframe the affective infrastructures of exclusion, inequality, and injustice.

Linguistic and Artistic Representations of Trauma: The Contribution of Pedagogies of Discomfort in Language Education

“…Overall, our findings illustrate the affective and embodied complexities of engaging pedagogically with trauma and pain in the language classroom using both linguistic and artistic means (Dernikos, 2018;Niccolini, 2016;Zembylas, 2014Zembylas, , 2020. These means in combination helped students to understand and imagine otherwise incomprehensible trauma and to channel the discomforting feelings it aroused (Dutro, 2008(Dutro, , 2011(Dutro, , 2013Dutro & Bien, 2013;Dutro & Cartun, 2015;Zembylas, 2020). In other words, a linguistic perspective in and of itself was insufficient and was supported by artistic and multimodal forms of expression (Cope & Kalantzis, 2015;Dutro & Bien, 2013;New London Group, 1996;Woodley, 2016).…”

“…Linguistic studies related to trauma can be complemented by recent scholarship on affect and trauma in the field of education (Dernikos, 2018;Niccolini, 2016;Zembylas, 2014Zembylas, , 2020. This scholarship pays attention to the affective and embodied complexities of engaging pedagogically with trauma in the classroom through both linguistic and nonlinguistic means.…”

“…This research seeks to understand the presence, role, and impact of trauma on students and teachers, and to develop pedagogical practices that address traumatic experiences in the classroom. As we have argued elsewhere (Zembylas, 2020), the primary focus of this research has been on the linguistic representations of difficult experiences—either those of children or those brought into the classroom from outside. Also, the field of social and emotional learning, which has been dominant in the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, and other parts of Western Europe, urges children to work through and heal trauma through a set of skills for managing their emotions.…”

Ethical Issues in Teaching for Intercultural Citizenship in World/Foreign Language Education

“…For example, in the United States, there has been a debate about whether teachers should include trigger warnings in their syllabi when they cover topics they fear might cause anxiety or trauma in students (George & Hovey, 2019). Some scholars have argued that trauma and pain are not only unavoidable but even necessary, and that they can become an opening in education when addressed pedagogically (Ennser-Kananen, 2016;Zembylas, 2015Zembylas, , 2020. In any case, teachers should carefully consider the context in which a project takes place.…”

Disrupting the representational limit of abductively-driven research: A problematization of the link between abduction and representational thought

“…What is described here could be described broadly as post-humanism, which informs the ontological orientations of new materialism (Coole and Frost, 2010). Scholars working within the posthumanist paradigm tend to agree upon the potential of creative possibilities by embracing the imbricateness of humans and non-humans, or at least comparatively more possibilities than one that maintains the rigid separation of humans and non-humans (e.g., Barad, 2007;Haraway, 2016;Hekman, 2010;Zembylas, 2019). There are also critiques that post-humanism is simply a re-instalment of (Cartesian) divide of humans and non-humans (e.g., Badmington, 2003;Hacking, 2007).…”