Based on a true story : a discussion on testimony and education through Giorgio Agamben's philosophy

In classrooms there are stories, as pedagogical content that tell that something wrong and exceedingly bad has happened. The stories differ, both in form and content; it may be a testimony from today's war-torn areas, or historical documents and witness stories of violence, misery and death. The paper’s aim is partly to focus on these types of stories, as testimonies, as an epistemological problem and from there on explore what significance these types of testimonies may have in relation to the understanding of difference. The aim is also to argue and make testimony a question for education. How can we understand the relation between the testimony and difference in an educational context? Rooted in philosophy of education, I will do this through a philosophical study and analysis of the Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben’s understanding of the testimony and the witness. When Agamben understands the witness - based on Primo Levi’s discussions and experiences on the authentic and complete witness - as the point where knowledge and ethics come together I find some interesting starting points for understanding the testimony as something central for educational practice. The paper will therefore pay attention to the testimony as an educational problem and based on this, argue that the testimony as a problem needs to be acknowledged in terms of respect for difference.