Helping Students Become "Architects of Change": Investigating Comparative Genocide Teaching in High School Classrooms

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 64
  In Roundtable Session: Expanding Notions of Teacher Preparation

Abstract

This exploratory case study examines how two teachers approached the teaching of comparative genocide history. Through interviews and observations, we found that both teachers set up their classrooms as safe places for learning about genocide and did not shield their students from the horrors of genocide, but they positioned themselves differently: one as a history learner; one as a genocide activist. The teachers engaged in three types of comparison throughout the unit under study: comparing genocides to a class definition, discussing similarities and differences, and expanding students’ knowledge of genocide as only being the Holocaust. This study adds to the limited empirical research on teaching comparative genocide and has implications for curriculum design and teacher education.

Authors

• Lauren McArthur Harris, Arizona State University

• Stephanie Francesca Reid, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College Arizona State University

• Volker Benkert, Arizona State University

• Jason Bruner, Arizona State University