EdJAM's Hashiya Project: Confronting violent pasts through storytelling and visual language (DOMUS Seminar)

DOMUS Seminar Series 2021 - 2022

With speakers:

• Dr Tania Saeed, Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow, Università Ca' Foscari Venezia
• Mr Arafat Mazhar, Director Engage Pakistan
• Dr Sameen A. Mohsin Ali, Lecturer, International Development Department, University of Birmingham 

Storytelling and visual language can trigger a sympathetic or critical response, accessing emotive, affective and critical thinking capacities. Therefore, the importance of the creative arts cannot be overstated in their ability to generate meaningful conversations, even around the most divisive topics.

EdJAM is a network of researchers, educators, artists and civil society organisations working in the arts, education and heritage committed to creative ways to teach and learn about the violent past in order to build more just futures. In Pakistan, EdJAM has been working with the Engage Foundation and with Puffball Studios, their production studio partner, to develop the Hashiya project.

Hashiya is a series of animated videos that explore episodes of violence from the period of British colonialism to the present day, providing storytelling about events that are largely excluded from formal education. Hashiya works from a decolonizing ethos that functions on two levels: firstly, in opposition to a Pakistani historiography still deeply influenced by the writings of British colonists; secondly in opposition to a Pakistani historiography and pedagogy that almost exclusively concentrates on the histories of Urdu-speaking Sunni Muslims within the subcontinent. As such, this work has sought to confront and illuminate violent pasts by using creative means to initiate critical conversations around contentious ideas and events. In particular, Hashiya seeks to enhance empathy and understanding through its work, thereby building the knowledge and skills required for a culture of peace and non-violence.