May the Force be with me on May Fourth, because I will be presenting at DePaul University’s Pop Culture Conference of 2024!
It’s been such an intense year- between parenting a toddler, working as a full time teacher, AND producing the podcast has left little time for academic writing (as you can tell by the scarcity of posts… oops!). BUT I took a chance and submitted an abstract… and within DAYS the conference organizers replied with their congratulations! I’m so excited to share that I will be presenting a paper on how trauma affects the adolescent brain and student learning… all through the lens of Disney’s Ahsoka and Star Wars: The Clone Wars!
Registration for the conference is opening soon- it’s being hosted by DePaul University in Chicago. Registration is FREE, and there are virtual/hybrid options available! I myself will be presenting virtually. Oh, and did I mention that CLAUDIA GRAY, AUTHOR OF MASTER AND APPRENTICE, LEIA, AND BLOODLINE IS A KEYNOTE SPEAKER?? I am having difficulty containing my enthusiasm.
You can register by going to https://popcultureconference.com/2024-a-celebration-of-star-wars, or you can use the QR code in the provided image.
And finally, I would love to share the abstract to my presentation with you all- just to give you a taste of what you will experience!
The recent release of Ahsoka in live-action has been a delight to fans of The Clone Wars series, the Prequel films, and Star Wars: Rebels. But, while this show has captivated audiences everywhere, it has also emphasized a gradual change in a beloved character. The episode “Shadow Warrior” was an emotional flashback to Ahsoka’s participation in the Clone Wars, and the live-action filmmaking has changed what was once an entertaining story to an examination of the gritty, traumatic memories of a child in war.
Research has shown that the brain, particularly the adolescent brain, drastically changes in the face of trauma and war. As a result, learning and schooling are negatively impacted when faced with continuous trauma. A recent study showed that more than two-thirds of children in the United States have or will experience trauma before the age of sixteen and that this number is likely to increase because 140,000 children have lost a caregiver to COVID-19 in recent years (Ernest, B. W., Reaves, M. & Smith, R., 2022). Many schools and universities have adopted trauma-informed teaching strategies after the COVID-19 pandemic and refugee crises. Still, it can be difficult for educators to imagine what children need in the long term to respond to trauma, as opposed to quick fixes that address negative behaviors at the moment.
This presentation will examine Ahsoka’s character arc and education as an apprentice to her role as Master to Sabine. I will compare evidence from episodes in The Clone Wars and Ahsoka to educational research to determine how the Clone Wars impacted her learning and apprenticeship. I seek to answer the following questions:
1. How did the constant stress of war and the need to make quick decisions impact Ahsoka’s education?
2. How did the trauma of the war impact Ahsoka’s apprenticeship with Anakin Skywalker, and consequently her role as Master in teaching Sabine Wren?
3. How can narrative inquiry into fictional stories inform teaching practices and methods in real-world classrooms in the “post-pandemic” era?
Source:
Ernest, B. W., Reaves, M. & Smith, R. (2022). The state of trauma-informed practice in education: A focused review of literature. Educational Research: Theory and Practice, 33(1), 7-13.
Teaching With Magic 