War and the Visual Image: Pedagogical and Curricular Decision Making About Violence and War

• In Event: War Stories and Counterstories: The importance of Perspectives

Abstract

This paper describes a critical phenomenology study examining how violent images are used in history classrooms teaching about war. Data was taken from two qualitative studies examining how war was taught. One study examines how war was taught to the children of soldiers, the second was a design study examining how war taught through a critical lens might bolster student sense of critical civic agency. Findings indicate many teachers do not use violent images in their teaching out of fear of traumatizing students and community pressure. Teachers who did use violent images used them thoughtfully, teaching students how to critique images, thoughtfully choosing which images, how to use them, as well as how to present them to students.

Author

• Brian C. Gibbs, University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill