Chapter 3: Violence and Racism

9/11 in the EFL classroom

session 7 June 26
th
, 2014
1. Introduction
2. Overview: Maria Eisenmann - Terror und
Traumatisierung nach 9/11: Jonathan Safran
Foers Roman Extremely Loud and Incredibly
Close (Alexandra)
3. Overview: Michael Szczekalla Die
literarische Verarbeitung des Schreckens in
9/11-Romanen (Jonas)
4. Mini-lesson

written by Maria Eisenmann
In recent years, developing intercultural
communicative competence (ICC) has become
one of the main goals of foreign language
learning
Michael Byrams model has had significant
influence on the Common European framework
(CEF)
Students should all be able to become an
intercultural speaker who crosses frontiers, and
who is to some extent a specialist in the transit
of cultural property and symbolic values
(Byram/Zarate)
The different terms are often not clearly
defined Intercultural learning vs. ICC vs.
Fremdverstehen (intercultural understanding;
empathy)
Diverse definitions of the word culture
A popular model to illustrate the broad scope
of the term culture is the iceberg model
However, this model still treats cultures as more
or less homogenous entities

Cultures are not separate entities (anymore)
Globalization and immigration continuous
exchange between different cultures
No clear distinction between self and
otherness
New challenge for the EFL classroom

First
culture
Other
culture
Third
place
The September 11 attacks deeply traumatized
the United States as well as the entire world
Terrorism became an immediate threat
Political turning point

However, the new generation of students is
too young to remember 9/11 they treat it
as an historical event
It is a very controversial topic but talking
about it is necessary in order to understand
other events in recent US history
There is no uniform opinion about the attacks
students can contrast and compare
different viewpoints and engage in interesting
discussions

HOW?
There is a large variety of literary texts that
deal with the 9/11 attacks and their
aftermath (documentary and fictional,
objective and sympathetic, and textual modes
of representation [Dwes 2007: 517])
Three major perspectives

Another distinction can be made depending
on the role of the 9/11 attacks within the
text:

Are the attacks used as a symbol?

Do they serve as a trigger for a characters
personal crisis/development?

A novel by Jonathan Safran Foer

The genre of 9/11 novels:
stories enframed by or (indirectly) dealing with
the terrorist attacks and depicting its
significance for the American society.

1. Falling Man (2007) by Don DeLillo
2. The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2007) by
Mohsin Hamid
3.Terrorist (2006) by John Updike

9/11 novels as a new genre with content
much different from others, complying
approaches necessary to grasp findings and
implement it successfully

Can traditional approaches/literature-didactic
meet the challenge?

Do they enable learners to capture the
relevant content?

Do they allow an activation of intercultural-
competence?

Avoid: initial adoption of perspective as in
(traditional didactics),
as well as the attempt/intent to remain
impartial and avoid any opinion on
content or characters.

The goal: to achieve/gain in competence of
critical interpretation (ref.ICC) through
discussion and examination of otherness in
literature.

Thesis: Literature i.e. the three novels depict
reality and inhibit a truth claim that has to be
explored


How to perform this task of approximation in
EFL classes?

Teaching from the microcosm: starting with
a close reading of text-passages that inhibit
central points of the entire novel and give
established clue on the plot and characters

Initiation of an adequate perspective on the
text

Reading the entire novel:

An approach should be based on students
question concerning the text, its content or
perspective: serve as a framework
Further examination can be encouraged with
the help of factual texts on terrorism

Remaining central question:
To what extent and by what means does the
novel depict reality and/or give clue about
terrorism itself and its cause and effect on
modern society?

Falling Man, Don DeLillo (2007)


American society in a
free fall



-fragmentary narration: numerous dialogues, episodes
and motives dealing more or less with 9/11

Fragments are enframed by first and last chapter
illustrating the fall of the twin towers in minutest
detail

-free indirect speech: enables to capture an additional
perspective and thoughts in absolute detail and
immediate closeness combined perspective

Not about the change and the impact 9/11 had/has on
society
An interpretation is rather concerned with to what
extent the way of narration and implementation of
rhetoric strategies represented free fall


The Reluctant Fundamentalist

(Dramatic) monologue held by the protagonist
about himself, Changez, a Pakistani, who lived in
the US but decided to go back to Pakistan
his live and story, America and nostalgia after
9/11, and public attitude towards people of
Arabic heritage conflict of identities


-high narrative pace
-limited and detailed perspective

Novel allows an immediate exploration of
Otherness Muslim Perspective

Terrorist, John Updike (2007)
The story of Ahmad,
son of an Egyptian and his Irish wife,
almost committing a suicide attack
but is stopped before a
tragedy can occur


Direct examination of terrorism,
depiction the American society through the
perspective of protagonist
Illustration of the allurement that religious
fundamentalism inhibits and the motivation to
commit an attack

Conflict of identity: Irish vs. Egyptian

problems concerning authenticity, because
one can argue that Ahmad does not use the
language of adolescent
omniscient narration can conflict with perspective

Very complex in plot and character
In order to answer the central question
To what extent and by what means does the novel
depict reality and/or give clue
about terrorism itself and its cause and effect on
modern society?

dependence on perspective, determines the
way how otherness is experienced

therefore:
the narrative perspective has to be examined
and taken into account, as well as the overall
rigour and conjunction of narrative elements,
fragments and chapters



To successfully implement 9/11novels in EFL class,
the student perspective and their questions should
function as the guiding force and platform of
interpretation
Initiation of productive discussion

In this regard critical interpretive competence
as well as intercultural communicative
competence can be fortified