Teaching Holocaust in literature classes in Greece: Teaching Approaches and Student Responses

Submitted by: Sotiria Kalasaridou
Abstract: My key idea highlights, for the first time in research about Greek secondary education, the relation between the teaching of the Holocaust in literature classes and the responses of the students.
The research is based on both the theoretical framework of the Pedagogy of Trauma and Critical Media Literacy Pedagogy as well as the results and findings of empirical researches which are related to the teaching of the Holocaust in a global context. The research project focuses on the meaning and power of personal story in teaching of the Holocaust in literature classes through the simultaneous use of images. The material to be taught in classes put the students in touch with as many writing genres as possible that represent the Holocaust. The qualitative research was conducted by using ethnography method and more specifically the participant observation. The study focuses on 32 recorded literature lessons. The data is transcribed and coded with MAXQDA using the qualitative content analysis. Individual sequences are selected and analysed by using discourse analysis focus on subject learning.
The main results of the students’ responses concern: a. Τhe interpretation of central aspects and the decoding of neuralgic symbols in respect of the Holocaust. b. The way in which the texts bring controversial issues regarding Holocaust into conversation in the classroom. c. The definition of the meaning of “Auschwitz” in a universal and cultural framework. d. The development of arguments in the classroom about controversial issues regarding the representation of the Holocaust. e. Students' familiarising of the simultaneous use of the written and visual texts in Holocaust teaching.


Teaching Holocaust; Pedagogy of Trauma; Qualitative research

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