e-Guest Lecture: Nena Mocnik

History Teaching and Trauma Transmission in Higher Education: Challenges, Needs, Guidelines

Nena Mocnik - Université de Turku - Finlande, is visiting scholar at laboratory Agora at CY Cergy Paris Université

The topic of intergenerational effects of historical traumas has been a subject for some time in the history and broader social sciences research, and several educators have asked how to develop the resilient pedagogical practices against destructive and potentially violent disruptions in the classroom. With the expansion of memory studies and citizen educations, history teachers in the primary and secondary schools have gradually adjusted traditional teaching subjects and methods to incorporate the essential components of global learning: multicultural sensibility, multiperspectivity, empathic connections and critical dialogical encounters. However, such engaging pedagogical principles might risk to trigger the reactions related to traumatic family and/or community histories and structural violence that often derives from the historical inequalities and oppressions.

University professors are usually ill-prepared pedagogically, and particularly poorly skilled to successfully navigate conversations and potential triggers in trauma-informed classroom. In the following lecture, the speaker will present some of the most striking challenges, needs, and guidelines for incorporating principles of trauma-informed classroom in history teaching at university level. The premises, study cases and conclusions presented during the talk are part of the ongoing qualitative research, conducted with history professors and history teachers across Europe.

University stuff from different disciplines that deal with the traumatic materials of collective violence in the classroom, are particularly invited to join and participate in this interactive session.

Date: Thursday, November 19, 2020 from 12:30 to 14:00

The video has been published on CY AS YouTube Channel