“Swirling a Million Feelings into One”: Working-Through Critical and Affective Responses to the Holocaust through Comics

“Swirling a Million Feelings into One”: Working-Through Critical and Affective Responses to the Holocaust through Comics

Drawing on perspectives from cultural studies, affect theory, and critical literacy, this article explores comics made by three eighth-grade students in response to Art Spiegelman’s Holocaust memoir Maus. Students’ comics were developed through participatory research alongside their classroom teache...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Research in the teaching of English 2022-05, Vol.56 (4), p.385-410
Main Authors: Simon, Rob, Gallagher, Ben, Walkland, Ty
Format: Article
Language:eng
Subjects:
Adult Literacy
Autobiographical literature
Autobiographies
Awards & honors
Cartoons
Classrooms
College students
Comic books, strips, etc
Comics
Computer Assisted Instruction
Creativity
Critical literacy
Cultural studies
Education
Educational aspects
Elementary school students
Emotional Response
Emotions
Fathers
Feedback (Response)
Group Discussion
Holocaust
Legibility
Literacy
Literacy Education
Literary Genres
Participatory research
Preservice Teachers
Psychological Patterns
Social Action
Student teachers
Students
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Summary:Drawing on perspectives from cultural studies, affect theory, and critical literacy, this article explores comics made by three eighth-grade students in response to Art Spiegelman’s Holocaust memoir Maus. Students’ comics were developed through participatory research alongside their classroom teacher, a research team, and teacher candidates from a local university. These three students, Stella, Maisie, and Naomi, reacted strongly to the content of Maus and the comics medium, and raised questions around identity, representation, and the legibility of their often-intense emotional responses. We trace their affective engagements to explore how comic-making allowed students to represent feelings that are often difficult to make visible in school spaces. Our analysis highlights how affective critical literacy orients teaching and research toward working-through rather than resolving complicated emotions, allowing educators to recognize unanswered questions as forms of critical engagement.
ISSN:0034-527X
1943-2348