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ERIC Number: EJ1051304
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2014
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0155-2147
EISSN: N/A
"The Struggle for Welcome": Valuing Difference through Refugee Stories in the English Curriculum
Henderson, Deborah; Fitzgerald, Dominique
English in Australia, v49 n3 p67-77 2014
This paper is concerned with how refugee stories can be used as the means of exploring values and developing intercultural understanding in the English classroom. To illustrate this possibility, André Dao's (2005) "Vuot Bien--The Search for Freedom: Huong Thi Nguen's Story," about the impact of war and oppression on people's lives, together with the experience of seeking freedom and acceptance in Australia as a Vietnamese refugee, is selected as the text for a Year 9 English class. In examining the features of this short story, we also consider how recent efforts to foster intercultural understanding in the new national curriculum in Australia might be advanced in the English classroom. We argue that this text and others in the genre of refugee narratives written by young people, provide vicarious opportunities to analyse how valuing freedom and having the courage to seek it can be brought to light when an individual survives one life and begins the challenges of creating a new life in another country. Examining the values dimensions of such texts also allows young people to unpack and critique the ways in which cultural experiences, including their own, shape and form identities and how engaging with the experiences of others can be the vehicle for valuing difference. We hope our discussion might encourage teachers in other countries undergoing cultural shifts in response to the diaspora of people will be encouraged to consider this "double entendre" in which the refugee experience is shaped not only by "the journey" but also by "the arrival" and the degree to which newcomers, refugee or asylum seekers, are made welcome by the receiving community.
Australian Association for the Teaching of English. English House, 416 Magill Road, Kensington Gardens, SA 5068 Australia. Tel: +61-8-8332-2845; Fax: +61-8-8333-0394; e-mail: aate@aate.org.au; Web site: http://www.aate.org.au
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia; Vietnam
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A