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Hi everyone,

I am new to New Tactics, but I have just finished reading the fascinating dialogue about using theatre for human rights education and action, and I wonder if we could have a similar dialogue about using fiction for human rights education and action.

I should say at the outset that in 2006, my novel Xamon Song was published, and since then it has been used as a human rights education tool by a small, but growing, number of public and private high schools and colleges in the United States and Canada (more about Xamon Song, including a free teaching guide, at www.xamonsong.com). So I guess I have something of a financial interest in fiction as a human rights education tool. But it seems to me that like theatre, fiction can offer a raw and emotional perspective on events and experiences, one that more traditional teaching tactics often cannot. Works of fiction also offer an intimacy, a one-on-oneness, that can break down barriers and facilitate introspection and emotional growth. Many works of fiction are on reading lists, or other parts of the curriculum, anyway, and so can be "taught" from a human rights perspective without adding a new subject to the instructor's agenda.

In addition to traditional works of fiction with human rights themes (e.g., The Grapes of Wrath, or 1984) that teachers might be "teaching" already, Amnesty International Canada has a list of more recent works of fiction with human rights themes:

http://www.amnesty.ca/raisemoney/bookclub/

It would be great to hear about the experiences New Tactics members have had using fiction to teach about human rights: what has worked, what hasn't, etc. I'd also be interested in hearing about what kinds of barriers (including institutional ones) you face: I have had teachers tell me they would love to use Xamon Song, but either they have no control over what they teach or they are afraid that a controversial novel would create problems with administrators and/or school boards. When I hear this, I tell them that although one of my goals with Xamon Song was to create a work of fiction that addressed many contemporary human rights themes (e.g., the relationship between globalization and human rights; genocide and ethnic cleansing; conflict resolution; rights of indigenous peoples; corporate accountability; governmental responsibility for corporate misconduct; democracy and forced military service; the impact, on a democracy, of having a disproportionately large number of military members come from lower socioeconomic classes; environmental stewardship and conservation of resources; and the role of the media in reporting human rights violations), another goal was to do so in a manner that is respectful of multiple value systems and perspectives, and that Xamon Song contains no profanity, no sexual situations, and no direct violence (although the aftermath of violent human rights abuses is explored in some scenes). I also encourage them to see if their school will purchase 1 copy for the library. That way the teacher can use the teaching guide to create extra-credit assignments using the novel, even if they cannot teach it directly.

Any thoughts on this topic?