Teaching Religion and Media Amidst the Gaza Crisis
An Autoethnographic Reflection
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/jbasr.33324Keywords:
autoethnography, reflexivity, critical pedagogy, embodied teaching, conflict pedagogy, media literacy, Israel-Palestine Conflict, Interfaith dialogue, teaching in crisis, positionality, emotional labour in teaching, higher education, religion and media, reflexive pedagogyAbstract
In October 2023, my specialisation area coincided with the eruption of violence and media warfare around the Israeli Palestinian conflict in Gaza. As a leader aiming to facilitate critical examination of these topics, I faced the challenge of holding space for learning amidst a polarising real-world crisis while reconciling my own reflexivity. Through autoethnographic reflection using my teaching journal, this work examines the critical lenses and reflexivity required to navigate the classroom as both a microcosm of broader sociopolitical dynamics and a space for building understanding. I analyse pivotal moments where inflammatory rhetoric could spill into the classroom, requiring immediate responses to uphold an environment allowing for authentic grappling with the material and interpersonal care, whilst also reflecting on my own past experiences which inevitably impact and contextualise this work. This approach offers an intimate look at the process behind pedagogical choices aimed at discussing media, political actors, and legitimacy of information in the conflict and adjacent debates while mitigating potential harm. This work is intended to catalyse conversations about teaching charged issues when local classrooms are impacted by global events and how educators might facilitate critical media literacy and interfaith dialogue in times of crisis. Ultimately, this work points to the need for embodied critical pedagogies that can respond to immediate situations, while building more just societies.
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