Navigating the Affective Aspects of Vulnerability in Our Times: Faithful Affective Witnessing as Pedagogical Theory and Practice

ABSTRACT

The aim of this paper is to bring into conversation the concept of ‘affective witnessing’ and the notion of ‘vulnerability’ as an affective relation to reconceptualise the framework for understanding affective witnessing of vulnerability in pedagogical theory and practice. In particular, the paper explores how paying close attention to affectivity and embodied knowledge in the practice of witnessing vulnerability in educational settings – particularly in the context of new media forms, platforms, devices and infrastructures – may expand possibilities for engaging students in transformative action that challenges inequality and injustice. It is argued that providing opportunities for students to engage in ‘faithful witnessing’ – that is, witnessing as an act of aligning oneself with oppressed peoples and taking action against inequality and injustice – requires taking into consideration the affective dynamics of witnessing human vulnerability.

KEYWORDS:

• Affect
• vulnerability
• witnessing
• pedagogy
• media

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1. Responding to each of these questions is beyond the scope of this paper, yet there needs to be due consideration of how to approach the ethical and political aspects of bringing ‘sensitive’ or ‘difficult’ material (such as video footage of George Floyd’s death) in the classroom. Needless to say, there is not an easy way out, partly because the ethical and political context of each classroom (not to state the obvious, namely, considerations about children’s age) is different. Showing this video in a particular socio-political setting, for example, may make parents very upset, hence teachers who decide to show this or similar footage have to take into account many such ethical and political considerations. In the last part of the paper, I suggest how showing such material can be nested within an ethical framing grounded in ‘faithful’ affective witnessing – which, of course, does not dismiss all the considerations mentioned above.