Emotional geography of education for history learning

ABSTRACT

This conceptual paper explores two empirical examples to illustrate the need for ‘emotional geographies of education’ in relation to history learning at the level of primary education. It uses discursive analysis to analyse a specific WW2 history project, from a public school in England, to highlight the necessity to bridge formal environments of learning such as educational institutions, and informal spatialities of learning like the home and the community which provide the ‘funds of knowledge’ that students bring into the classroom. The article then discusses emotionality in the classroom (as a formal space of learning) by analysing pedagogical tools, such as testimonial literature used to facilitate emotional understanding of events like the Holocaust. Drawing from the literature on safe space, this article presents the nuances that have been raised with regard to power, dialogue and emotion, in relation to the discussion of classrooms as spaces of critical engagement with history.