Literacy Amidst Violent Conflict is a critical literacy-peacebuilding pedagogy that recognizes and resists the kinds of direct and systemic violence endured by young people facing terrorism and ethnoreligious violence in Nigeria and other conflict-affected regions around the world. Through creative and participatory pre-reading, reading, and post-reading activities, students will engage in the power of text to build, reflect, resist, and transform their social realities. The literacy activities will allow students to learn about and provide their own analysis of the conflicts and insecurities happening around them. To accommodate varying abilities, student exercises take the form of quick writes, poetry, drawings, and photographs.
The teaching guide is built around Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani’s Buried Beneath the Baobab Tree, a young adult novel that chronicles the life of a northern Nigerian teenage girl kidnapped by the Boko Haram terrorist group in Nigeria. Although fictional, this novel is inspired by the Boko Haram abduction of 276 Chibok school girls in April 2014. Told through the eyes of Ya Ta, a young, brilliant, and ambitious girl whose life is upended by these tragic events, the novel delves into the traumatic experiences faced by the kidnapped girls while highlighting their hope and resilience in the face of adversity.
Literacy Amidst Violent Conflict is designed to help grades 6-12 educators navigate the sensitive themes presented in the novel. The story contains descriptions of violence, sexual assault, abuse, and death, which young readers may find unsettling. It is important to approach these topics with care and empathy, creating a safe and supportive environment for students to explore and discuss the material. This guide provides strategies for addressing these themes thoughtfully, encouraging critical thinking while building resilience and understanding among students. By engaging with the novel through this teaching guide, students will gain insights into complex social issues such as child marriage, girl-child education, sexual and gender-based violence, armed conflict, and displacement while building peacebuilding skills.
In a world where our classrooms are too often met with silence, confusion, and helplessness in times of violence and in the face of injustice, Literacy Amidst Violent Conflict offers a pedagogy of hope and peace.
Our first implementation site is COEC Model Schools in rural Samaru, Kaduna, Nigeria, funded by the McCarthey Dresman Academic Enrichment Grant.
Please join us on this journey of literacy for peace and justice!
