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INTRODUCTION
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war that I grew up with; Ilike many peoplefind that my life experiences, and time, both reinforce and subvert the official representations or versions of war and conflict that I experienced as a child.
This creates a tension that is uncomfortable, yet allows me now, decades later, to explore these topics with my students in ESL classes and
to encourage them to question these official representations, identities,
and attitudes.2
The stories here draw attention to the ways in which the personal
can become politicalof how spoken and shared intimacies can rub
against the grain of government and mass media representations. The
Iranian novelist Marjane Satrapi offers a provocative and insightful
perspective on this issue:
The world is not divided into countries. The world is not divided
between East and West. You are American, I am Iranian, we
dont know each other, but we talk together and we understand
each other perfectly. The difference between you and your government is much bigger than the difference between you and me.
And the difference between me and my government is much bigger than the difference between me and you. And our governments are very much the same.3
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(1) Both sides of almost every conflict in the world can end up in the
same ESL class. Iraqis and Iranians, Israelis and Palestinians, Ethiopians and Eritreans, or Bosnian Serbs, Croats, and Muslims are examples. This can create tense moments, but as Shelley Wong has detailed,
this also creates unique opportunities for insightful dialogue and collaboration. For some students, it is the first opportunity to hear previously censored voices and the collective dreams and memories of
historic enemies.5
(2) Language is both the medium and the object of study.
Through first-language (L1) and multilingual translation, or through
collaborative analyses of target-language literature, grammar, and
vocabulary, charged words and dehumanizing discourses can be
exposed, and often from the perspective of those who have been
directly or similarly affected. Equally important, the assumed neutrality of everyday, commonsense language is also critiqued. These two
types of language practices work in tandem: the construction of an
inferior, exotic, and dangerous Other requires the normalization or
naturalization of a collective Self whose superiority, commonsense
goodness, and actions need never be justified or closely scrutinized.6
The appearance of objectivity in commonsense language can be
more damaging than hate language as it operates somewhat below our
conscious scrutiny. Language, in this overly familiar or unmarked
sense, conditions our indifference to poverty, systemic racism, homophobia, sexism, and religious intolerance in all spheres of public life.
Moreover, it underpins the most effective forms of propaganda in
liberal, democratic societies, as suggested by Parenti:
The most effective propaganda is that which relies on framing
rather than falsehood. By bending the truth rather than breaking
it, by using emphasis, nuance, innuendo, and peripheral embellishments, communicators can create a desired impression without
resorting to explicit advocacy and without departing too far from
the appearance of objectivity.7
A key point to consider is that propaganda, ideologies, and discourses are to a large extent linguistic constructions.8 Second-language
instructors are in a position to help students see the ways in which
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grammatical and lexical choices influence social agents and shape how
they perceive or feel about other countries and peoples. In turn, second-language learners are perhaps more ready to understand these
concepts, as they are less nave users of texts and discourse than monolinguals, and can see how representations and concepts change (often
invisibly) with different languages and uses of languages.
(3) Propaganda, discourse, and ideology are also perceptual and
cognitive processes, hence the possible reciprocal application of second-language acquisition (SLA) research. Most second-language
instructors, through their exposure to SLA research, come to classrooms alerted to the complexities and contingencies of learning and of
the multiple meanings and varied degrees of awareness that occur in
any single activity or communicative semiotic exchange. They recognize the process of learning as conscious and unconscious, intentional
and incidental, or immediate and recursive, and they diversify their
syllabi in ways that seek to accommodate the multiple experiences,
learning pathways, and strategies of their students. Such flexibility in
syllabus design encourages new understandings and critical collaboration that can be counterdiscursive.9
(4) An ESL classroom is a place rich with uncommon sense and
insight. This final point arises from and complements the ones stated
above. There is a tendency in schools and society to misjudge immigrants and refugees as partially formed citizens based on their errors
in English. Yet, the newcomers or outsiders eyes and ears are alert to
power in ways no longer available to habituated, domesticated insiders, who see but no longer perceive the beauty, horror, and complacency around them. For a peace and justice curriculum, ESL students
social, cultural, and language experiences are key resources and not
deficits in need of remediation.
It is important to consider that these curricular points in support
of peace and justice take shape in different forms and with different
priorities depending on their settings and the specific reasons that
draw students to these programs. The site may be a university program, an ethnic community agency, a refugee center, or even a workplace. Each setting will determine the form and extent to which a
peace and justice component can be integrated.
We now provide a detailed discussion of two such settings and
the lessons that took place within them. The first setting we describe
is a content-based EAP course called English in Use, which Brian
Morgan taught for several years at a university in Toronto, Canada.
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analytic tools and concepts that can assist students in researching and
writing across diverse media and text-types.14 One of the metalinguistic resources I bring into class is the video Manufacturing Consent:
Noam Chomsky and the Media, specifically a section that takes up
Chomskys analysis of a propaganda model in the mass media.15
Another video I use is Killing Us Softly 3, which examines the depiction of women in advertising and links these images to particular
social consequences (e.g., eating disorders, violence against women,
trivialization of womens participation in society).16
In addition to videos, several key readings by Birk and Birk, Corbett, Janks, Parenti, Bosmajian, and English help comprise the metalinguistic tool kit for the course.17 Some of these resources rely more
on linguistic and grammatical categories (e.g., Birk & Birk, Janks),
including a visual grammar (e.g., Corbett, Ch. 5). Some provide analytical categories that are more rhetorical and discourse based (e.g.,
Parentis categories of omission, face-value transmission, false balancing, etc.), and some of the readings specifically address dehumanizing
language and war (e.g., Bosmajian, English). For all of the course
readings and videos, I provide study guides for discussion. The questions I pose encourage a variety of descriptive, experiential, and criticalanalytic reading strategies.
Language and Public Life English in Use in the second term has
three major assignments: an analysis comparison of two print ads
(500750 words), an analysis of a public language event, for example,
speech, seminar (a group oral presentation), and a major research essay
on a social issue or recent current event (1,2001,500 words), which
includes prior small assignments such as an annotated bibliography
and an analysis of a related Web site.
Focus on Assignment 3: The Major Research Essay
The major essay assignment asks students to research a current
event or social issue from a critical media literacy perspective. I ask
the students to research their topic not so much for its objective content but rather for how it is represented or framed by the media:
How does the language used (e.g., vocabulary, grammatical forms,
images) make us feel about this topic and the people involved? I
encourage them to see the issue through the eyes of others, through
mainstream and alternative media, much of which can be found on
the Internet and often in different languages with which my students
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are familiar. I give the students a list of alternative media Web sites
belonging to organizations such as Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting
(FAIR), Z Magazine, the Independent Media Center, Project Censored, Adbusters, Straightgoods, and Rabble.18
I spend a lot of time on the essay process prior to the final
submission. There are small-group discussions, then whole-class conversations on potential topics and contrasting points of view, drawing from the diverse experiences of the class. There is also a short
assignment in which students bring rough drafts of theses statements, essay outlines, and two research sources with short annotations that state their relevance to the essay. These are discussed in
groups and in a whole-class format. The reliability of specific Internet sources is debated based on a short reading from Collins on
ways to evaluate information found on the Internet.19 Students also
question the application of course readings and the credibility of
evidence provided in the research materials. These can be constructive moments for storytelling, dialogue, collaboration, and critical
reflection.
Excerpts from Student Essays
Over the past few years, one of the more common essay topics in
my class has been the so-called War on Terror and how it has influenced much of the mainstream media coverage of Muslims and Muslim nations. In my 20042005 class, there were twenty students in the
class, six of whom self-identified as Muslims. During class discussions,
they spoke about the discrimination against their faith that has
increased since the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center
and the war in Iraq. From this group, one student, whom I shall call
Mehrdad, chose to research the medias coverage of Iraqs first election. He contrasted Western media sources such as CNN and Time
magazine with Al-Jazeera, an Arabic media organization based in
Qatar. He noted that the American and British governments undeservedly tried to take full credit for the elections, but that it was on the
insistence of Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani that elections took place at
all, an important point supported in an article by Tony Karon in
Time.20 Mehrdad was also critical of Al-Jazeera, noting that its primary aim was to attract the Arab world by revealing the election as
unjust since it was promoted by the United States, who was portrayed
to be the enemy of the Arab world.
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In a paper titled The War against Iraq, a student named Zahrah criticized the Western media for its failure to investigate and challenge the Bush administration about the weapons of mass destruction
that supposedly justified the war. She also noted the one-sided negative imagery of Muslims since the September 11th attacks. As she
argued in her essay, there are approximately four million Muslims in
the United States and 650 mosques; however, there is surprisingly little
awareness or understanding of Islam in the American consciousness.
In the 20052006 class with a similar demographic makeup as the
previous year, media coverage of Islam and of Muslims was again a
common essay topic, but not just for Muslim students. Two students,
one from Mexico, the other from France, chose to investigate the controversy around the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten and its publication of cartoons depicting the prophet Mohammed. Janique, the
student from France, did an excellent job of analyzing and contrasting
media from Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Denmark, Canada, and the United
States. One interesting contrast was between Arab News, an online
English publication from the Middle East, and the Washington Post.
From Arab News, Janique cited an article by Usma Mobin-Ullah titled
Exercising Free Speech or Spreading Hatred?21 Janique described
this article as fairly balanced as it advocated the right of Muslims
to protest against the cartoons but not in a violent or destructive
manner. In sharp contrast, she found John Lancasters article in the
Washington Post22 to be a strong case of unbalanced treatment, following Parenti.23 She notes that the title Pakistani Cleric Announces
Bounty for Killing of Danish Cartoonists serves to alarm his readers
that Muslims are dangerous people who are willing to kill for their
religion. According to Janique, Lancasters negative labeling is further achieved by his focus on protests that took place in Pakistan and
selective quotes from the protesters such as Bush is a dog and
Death sentence for the cartoonists.
Janiques positioning in her conclusions seeks out a careful middle
groundperhaps in part a reflection of the collaborative rapport and
interethnic dialogue that was a constant aspect of the essay process:
I agree with Usma Mobin-Ullah that freedom of speech is
accepted as long as it does not attack a particular group of people, culture, race, gender, and especially religion. Also, the Muslims are wrong to act in such a violent and aggressive manner.
The Jylland-Posten should never have published those cartoons,
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The final word from my students goes to Lia, who was highly critical of major American media and their submissive acceptance of their
governments claims of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and of
close ties between the Iraqi government and international terrorist
organizations. Her thoughts, and their relevance to the question and
pursuit of peace, are worth quoting at some length:
Media made a huge mistake, but this is a good lesson for all the
people around the world to see that media can be wrong too and
they are not always giving you the right information. I strongly
believe that war is not a good way of solving a problem at any
circumstances. Also, I think that all the people should be more
independent and they should value their beliefs. Each person
should think independently and should not get influenced by the
media. We all have to think more about what is wrong and what
is right and remember that we live in 21st century; therefore war
is not the answer.
Reflections on Assignment 3
It would be too idealistic or nave to suggest that critical media
literacy ensures peace, security, and mutual respect in the world. Still, it
would be wrong to claim that words are useless or do not do anything.
We know from the past, as Lakoff reminds us, that dehumanizing
and desensitizing language has always preceded and hastened acts of
violence or genocide against the Jews of Europe, the Tutsis of Rwanda,
or the Muslims of Bosnia-Herzegovina. We also know, as my students
essays indicate, that dehumanizing language and disinformation is not
exclusive to dictators and their propaganda machines. Being informed,
critical, and aware of language is an essential, but certainly not the only,
part of the peace process. Language can be a divisive and destructive
weapon, but it can also be a creative and unifying tool by which we
talk together and we understand each other perfectly, in the words of
Marjane Satrapi. Exploration and awareness of both options seem to me
a good foundation for a responsible EAP curriculum.
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as I believe that literature offers the best that language has to offer,
and allows readers a powerful way to reflect on life and its most
important themes and issues.24 The second controversy is whether to
teach anything that could be construed as politicizing the classroom. This is an ongoing controversy in academe and in the medias
(and sometimes politicians and governments) treatment of academe.
However, along with other scholars of critical pedagogy, I believe that
there is no way to teach that is neutral; even the choice to be neutral is in effect a political choice.
Rationale Objectives
What is the rationale for teaching this type of literature? And
what are the objectives, both linguistic and thematic? The first set of
objectives is linguistic. As the first goal of an ESL class is language
acquisition, in working toward that goal, why not choose interesting,
relevant materials for language-teaching goals such as reading skills,
writing skills, and vocabulary development? One of the most relevant
and universal themes is that of war and peace; all through history, in
all countries and cultures, these are issues that have profoundly
affected countries and families. Let me say parenthetically that
although literature is not only or mostly about certain subjects, and
is not and should not be purely political, much of the powerful draw
of good literature is the themes, and some of these are definitely political and social issue themes. When I teach short stories, poems, and
novels, I focus on themes related to gender, race, class, sexual identity,
and other political topics. My years of classroom teaching have provided the evidence that when students read engaging and engaged literature, they in turn are more engaged, and thus learnboth language
and in generalbetter. Most of the best discussions and the best writing done in my classes have been in response to such readings. Focusing on important and engaging topics such as war and peace does not
detract from language learning, but promotes it.
Another linguistic objective, besides language acquisition, is for
students to acquire the kinds of academic and linguistic abilities
needed by all students in their academic work as well as in the larger
context of their civic lives. One of the most important of these is reading critically. A crucial part of reading critically is examining the language used by writers and seeing how it is consciously used for certain
effects. In my classes, we discuss ways writers manipulate readersfor
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better or for worse. We talk about propaganda, both explicit and covert. For example, can the literature be propaganda? Yes, sometimes it
is; it is hard to draw the line between the literature that explores
important themes and makes certain points, and the literature that is
clearly aimed at influencing readers. Even overt attempts to influence
readers are not necessarily wrong. Think, for example, of great
muckrackers work, such as Upton Sinclairs The Jungle, or powerful
and influential dystopian novels, such as Aldous Huxleys Brave New
World, George Orwells 1984, and Arthur Koestlers Darkness at
Noon. Some so-called literature clearly crosses the line and is blatantly
used for political or ideological gain, and usually such works can be
identified by their specificity and lack of true literary merit. These are
issues we explore in class.
In any case, we talk about how language is used for effect. After
all, a literary work is more than just the content; it is also the overall
structure of the work, the sentence-level structures, the vocabulary,
the cadences, the imagery, etc. One effective example is the way passive voice is often used, in particular by politicians, political writers,
leaders of big corporations, and others with power in society, to
downplay agency and thus responsibility. We have all heard sentences
such as Twenty soldiers were killed in friendly fire incidents, or
Two villages were bombed, sometimes with an agent in a by
phrase, thus deemphasizing responsibility, and sometimes with no
agent mentioned at all, even further evading responsibility. The laws
have been changed; workers were injured in workplace accidents;
mistakes were made; we can all think of many such examples. Thus
students become aware that grammatical and language choices are
often far from neutral or innocent.
The second set of objectives focuses on the subject matter and
themes of the literature. These include the objectives of education in
general: examining, discussing, reflecting on, and forming opinions
about lifes great issues and themes, and learning to express those
opinions thoughtfully and articulately while being open to fair consideration of the opinions of others. Here the focus on the literature of
war and peace is not only illuminating in itself, but also allows students to practice and work toward the intellectual skills listed just
above.
Which kinds of questions are raised by war-related literature?
First and foremost are the universal questions and issues of war: when
war is justified or not; how war is rationalized; the rules of war and
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be easily available. Fortunately, some of the widely available textbooks include appropriate and interesting related readings; sometimes
I also copy and distribute short readings. Second, I generally choose
fairly short readings so that length and difficulty will not discourage
students, and so we can do more readings in the time we have. Short
stories of fewer than five pages work well, as do short poems. Occasionally, I use full-length novels in the most advanced classes. Third, I
choose pieces in which the language is both sophisticated and authentic; I never use abridged or adapted literature. Fourth, however, I
avoid pieces in which the vocabulary is going to be a serious impediment for the students, either because it is from an earlier historical
period, or because it is full of technical or other jargon, or because it
is experimental in style. I want the students to experience the power
of good literature and to be challenged, but not overwhelmed or discouraged. Fifth, the selections themes should be complex, not overly
simplistic, but not too very hard to discern. Finally, the selected works
should appeal to emotion and experiences the students can relate to or
imagine. Of course readers should be exposed to new worlds, new
experiences, but there should be some basic human themes that offer
the students a way in to the works, a way to connect with them.
Sample Texts and Lessons
Here I briefly discuss three works that I have taught in my ESL
reading writing classes: the short stories War by Luigi Pirandello
and D. P. by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., and the poem Rite of Passage
by Sharon Olds.25
War by the late Italian writer Luigi Pirandello is anthologized
in at least two ESL and composition textbooks; it is also available on
the Internet. It is short, literary, emotional, and simultaneously subtle
and pointed. The story takes place on a train in Italy during World
War I. The occupants of the train compartment are parents whose
sons have gone or will soon go to fight at the battlefront. The main
characters son has died in battle, and he tries to make his loss tolerable by speaking of patriotism, sacrifice, and pride. He says, If Country exists, if Country is a natural necessity, like bread somebody
must go to defend it. And our sons go, when they are twenty, and
they dont want tears, because if they die, they die inflamed and happy
. At the end of the story, precipitated by a fellow parents innocent
question of Then is your son really dead?, the father breaks
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