Unisangil workshop 2

1. Teaching social justice in the EFL classroom
within the Colombian post conflict
María del Pilar Fernández Pedraza M.A.
Leidy Yisel Gómez-Vásquez M.A.
2. VICTIMS STATION

2. Understanding the context:
SOMETHING ABOUT SAN CARLOS, ANTIOQUIA
San Carlos is a municipality part of the sub-region of Eastern
Antioquia well-known as the hydro-electrical capital of Colombia due
to its strategic location. San Carlos is a town with great variety of
natural resources: beautiful woods, natural reserves, rivers and
waterfalls, as well as fertile lands that allow the community to
produce coffee, sugarcane, potato and corn.
Unfortunately, due to its strategic location,
San Carlos became the main objective of
different armed groups that wanted to have
control over the territory to impose their
ideologies and benefit their own interests
in detriment of the civil society.

3. Introduction
“Photographs are an extraordinary tool to capture the essence of an
idea or event we aim to convey. For that reason, it is important to
learn how to interpret photographs in order to understand their
message. Analyzing this type of resources fosters learners’ visual,
cognitive and linguistic skills”(Kolangui, N. T. & Magaña, L. R., 2014).
One of the objectives in this stage is to have learners reflect upon the
violation of the civilians’ human rights and the ways to implement
actions for avoiding the same mistakes.

4. While watching the pictures:
Each group is given a set of photographs
which they are supposed to analyze by
discussing the following questions:
• Who appears in the photograph?
• What situation is portrayed there?
• What elements are shown in the photo
and what is the message?
Photos taken from:
http://especiales.semana.com/especiales/proyectovictimas/index.html#fotos
VARIATION: Have students
find their own
photographs of a social
justice issue portrayed in
newspapers, magazines or
internet.

5. San Carlos, Antioquía. (1998) Héctor Abad Colorado

6. A guerrilla commando dynamited the Danticas bridge on February 20, 2002, which links the Antioquia
municipalities of San Carlos and San Rafael. As a result of the attack, an ambulance fell into the void and
three people died, including a pregnant woman. (Photo: Julio César Herrera / EL TIEMPO)

7. In January 2003, the Farc murdered 17 peasants in the Antioquia municipality of San Carlos.
(Photo: Natalia Botero Duque)

8. Community funerals
were a common scene in
the worst years of
violence in eastern
Antioquia, mostly
massacres committed by
the AUC.

9. San Carlos, Antioquia.
(2003) Héctor Abad
Colorado

10. Massacres San Carlos
(Antioquia) inhabitants
leaving the town.
(Photo: Natalia Botero)

11. Exhumations in eastern Antioquia of victims of the armed conflict in 2007.
(Photo: Juan Alberto Gómez)

12. After watching the pictures:
Once they share their opinions,
students record a 1 minute video
answering the following questions:
• Did the photographs made me
feel empathetic to the people
portrayed, or was it the
opposite?
• How were my feelings affected
by them?
• Was the purpose of the
photographs to sensitize us or to
attack us?
VARIATION 1: Have students write a
letter narrating what happened from
a victim’s point of view.
VARIATION 2: Have the class reflect
about the following questions:
• what would you do if you were
one of the victims of this conflict?
• Would you find a possible
solution?
• What if you were a witness? What
would you do to help the victims?
Extra resources: Students could
create and share their stories or
videos in:
https://storybird.com/
https://animoto.com/

13. Dear teacher,
Can you think of any other authentic
materials you could use besides
photographs to learn about what
happened from the conflict victims’
perspective?
Food for thought!