Hollywood or History?: An Inquiry-Based Strategy for Using Film to Acknowledge Trauma in Social Studies

Traumagenic events—episodes that have caused or are likely to cause trauma—color the experiences of K—12 students and the social studies curriculum they encounter in U.S. schools. At the same time that the global COVID—19 pandemic has heightened educators’ awareness of collective trauma, the racial reckoning of 2020 has drawn important attention to historical and transgenerational trauma. At a time when social studies educators can simply no longer ignore “difficult” knowledge, instruction ...