HISTORY TEACHING THROUGH DOCUMENTARY FILMS

This R&D project explores the impact of using documentaries and dialogical activities in the classroom on the critical understanding of the historical exclusion of the indigenous Mapuche community and the strengthening of their cultural identity in schools.
HISTORY TEACHING THROUGH DIALOGICAL CONTROVERSIES IN SYNERGY WITH DOCUMENTARY FILMS: FOSTERING HISTORICAL COMPREHENSION,IDENTITY DEVELOPMENT AND PREJUDICE REDUCTION
The project is funded by The Spencer Foundation with a grant of $275,000. The research team, coordinated by Mario Carretero and Alicia Barreiro, is also enriched by the work of Cristina Parellada, María Cantabrana and Cecilia Wainryb (consultant at the University of Utah). This research takes an innovative approach to exploring the history of the Mapuche and their exclusion from mainstream culture. Through the projection of two documentary films created specifically for this purpose, together with the application of dialogic activities in the classroom, the aim is to deepen the historical silencing of this community. The development of these didactic tools aims to help students think more like historians when it comes to understanding the past, allowing them to access a less prejudiced and more racially critical view of historical events.

What is the effect of dialogical controversies in the classroom, used in synergy with documentary films, on participants’ historical comprehension, ethnic prejudice reduction, and identities development?

How do Mapuche and non-Mapuche adolescents in Argentina comprehend their country’s national historical narratives, and how does this understanding relate to the prejudice, societal exclusion and historical silencing of indigenous groups?

This project will contribute to the improvement of knowledge about dialogical processes within the discipline of history education, illuminate the interactions and synergy effects between these dialogs and documentary films in a classroom setting, combat prejudice against indigenous people, and present new insights into the dynamics of cultural identities both in young people belonging to minority groups and in the general population.