Celebration, Commemoration, and Contestation: Teaching the Ethical Dimension

Tom Morton(tmorton1027@gmail.com)Brisbane, 2014

Learning Intentions

• To identify the tension in considering the ethical dimension of historical thinking

• To recognise some ways to « OUT » the textbook

• To explore how to monuments and memorials to respond to the obligations that the past imposes on the present

Guideposts to the Ethical Dimension1. Authors, film directors, museum educators, etc. make implicit

or explicit ethical judgments in their historical narratives.2. To make reasoned ethical judgments of past actions we need

to take into account the historical context.3. When making ethical judgments, it is important not to impose

contemporary standards of right and wrong on the past.4. A fair assessment of the ethical implications of history can

inform us of our responsibilities to remember and respond to the contributions, sacrifices, and injustices of the past.

5. Our understanding of history can help us make informed judgments about present day issues, but only when we recognize the limitations of any direct “lessons” from the past.

• When is a textbook like a movie?• What obligations does my group owe to others

or other groups to mine? How should we fulfill those obligations?

• What heroic actions/contributions/sacrifices/tragedies deserve to be remembered? How should we remember them?

Inquiry Questions:

When is a textbook like a movie?

• Did the movie have heroes or villains? Where they clearly good or did they have different sides to their characters?

• Did you care about some characters more than others right from the start? Why is that?

• Was the movie trying to share a message, a lesson, or even a moral? If so, what was it?

• Does a textbook also have an ethical dimension or is it factual and neutral, just telling what happened?

(Seixas and Morton, The Big Six Historical Thinking Concepts, Toronto: Nelson, 2012)

…In June 1775, British troops attacked American forces defending Bunker Hill, the heights overlooking the city of Boston. The heroic stand of American patriots in this battle inspired the colonists in their struggle for independence….

—Beers, Burton F. Patterns of Civilization. Englewood Cliffs, New

Jersey, 1985.

The Death of General Warren at the Battle of Bunker's Hill, June 17, 1775 by John Trumbull, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Mass.

Opening up Textbooks (OUT) (Historical Thinking Matters

http://historicalthinkingmatters.org/ted/lessons/)

• Comparison of accounts or textbooks (an Australian text to a foreign one; old to new; etc.)

• Direct Challenge (bringing primary evidence to challenge issues of fact or interpretation)

• Narrativization (where does a text begin to tell story, where does it end it?)

• Articulating Silences (bringing in voices of the silenced)• Vivification (breathing life into a text that only mentions

some topic or group)• Close reading

Questioning the Author Strategy(Ogle, Klemp, McBride. Questioning the Author. Newark:

International Reading Association, 1997)

• Who wrote this?• Why was this information included?• What point is the author trying to make?• What else could have been said?• Whose voice is missing?• How could it have been improved to help

students like me understand?

How should we judge each other's past actions? What obligations does my group owe to others or other groups to mine? How should we fulfill those obligations?

Engraved on a stone in the castle of Col, the ancient home of the Maclean clan: “If any man of the clan of Maclonich shall appear before this castle, though he come at midnight, with a man's head in his hand, he shall there find safety and protection against all….”

The Story:

The text if from an old Highland treaty. In the distant past, one of Maclean’s forefathers obtained a grant of the lands of another clan…

…In gratitude to the Maclonich clan, he designated his castle a place of refuge for any member of the Maclonich family who felt him or herself in danger.

Your task: Imagine that you are a member of the Maclean clan living in the ancestral castle. One dark night a member of the Maclonich clan, called Ian, knocks at your door asking for help. He tells you that the police are looking for him because of a crime he is alleged to have committed. How would you react? Would you hide him from the police or decide on some other course of action? Imagine as well that later on you need to explain what is going on to a friend who is unfamiliar with the ancient clan narrative. Whatever you decide to do in respect to Ian Maclonich, you have to tell your friend the tale about the switched infants in order to explain your situation and your decision.

How will you respond to Ian Maclonich?

1. You could hide Ian Maclonich because you feel that there is a binding obligation on your part to honour the ancient Scottish agreement.

2. You can also hide Ian Maclonich for a number of other reasons based on a general principle of reciprocity.

3. You can refuse to hide him based on historical critical arguments, e.g., the story is only a legend.

4. You still feel obliged to help someone from the Maclonich clan because of what happened in the past, but wish to do so in a way based on modern considerations, e.g., find him a good lawyer.

Four Orientations to World War One

• Traditional: certain past events define us• Exemplary: past events are a source of lessons

and models• Critical: past events are not relevant to our

present lives• Genetic: we need to consider the present

context when we interpret the role of the past

What heroic actions/contributions/sacrifices/tragedies deserve to be remembered? How should we remember them?

Reading Memorials

• Is this an appropriate subject?• Is it effective?• What did the creator want us to think, feel,

do?• What does it tell us about the time and place

when it was created?

Cianfanelli comments on the different ways of viewing his sculpture: “This represents the momentum gained in the struggle through the symbolic (sic) of Mandela’s capture. The 50 columns represent the 50 years since his capture, but they also suggest the idea of many making the whole; of solidarity. It points to an irony as the political act of Mandela’s incarceration cemented his status as an icon of struggle, which helped ferment the groundswell of resistance, solidarity and uprising, bringing about political change and democracy”. (from the web site of Marco Cianfanellie www.marcocianfanelli.com)

Shrine of Remembrance, ANZAC Square, Brisbane

Australian War Memorial, Canberra

Pete Pickering

Pete Pickering twice walked 300km across the battlefields of the Western Front dressed in full WW1 Australian marching order carrying a pack, helmet, gas mask and, where possible, even a 303 rifle.His pilgrimage was meant to honour the sacrifices made by men from cities, towns and farms across the Australia who served overseas between 1914 and 1918.

[name of holocaust memorial goes here]The memorial gets people to think about…

The memorial is situated in a particular place for a particular reason.

The place is…

This place was chosen because…

The feelings which the memorial tries to evoke are…

It evokes these feelings by…

The memorial takes the form of…

This is an effective choice because…

[your name goes here]

Creating a Commemoration

http://www.growingremembrance.org.uk/

Sketch your memorial below:

Inscription (if any):

Purpose:

Audience:

Location:

Name of memorial:Intended feelings or thoughts of audience :

Unveiling:

Possible controversy:

Ways to Meet our Obligations to the Past

Reflection

Activities:• Outing the ethical stance in the textbook• Corners/Four Orientations to the past• Analysing a Memorial/Monument• Creating a Memorial/Monument

What ideas/activities of these or your own might you use to teach the ethical dimension?What prep is needed? What pitfalls to avoid?