Teaching Empathy and Promoting Global Citizenship through Literature
Peer reviewed, Journal article
Published version
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Date
2020Metadata
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- Institutt for lærerutdanning [3692]
- Publikasjoner fra CRIStin - NTNU [38127]
Original version
English Journal. 2020, 109 (3), 67-73.Abstract
In the dual roles of educator and reader, a Venn diagram of overlapping desires and experiences emerges. In teaching literature, we want students to read and understand the perspectives of those who they might perceive as being different from them. We want students to learn about and consider the experiences of writers from faraway places and even time periods. In this article, I discuss how teachers can develop empathy in students through reading and writing about literature, which contributes to their development as citizens in a global community. As a teacher and a reader who feels compelled to proselytize the good word of literacy, my goal is for students to consider their relationships with others in the world through utilizing texts that ask them to do the emotional and intellectual work of putting themselves in someone else's shoes, so that they may begin the lifelong journey of becoming good global citizens.