9/11 and Social Studies Education - A Critique of Perpetual War and the Possibility of a More Peaceful Future

Oct 15, 2026

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The article presents a personal reflection grounded in the author’s military and educational experiences after 9/11. It examines concerns about the ongoing “War on Terror” and the disengaged militarism of the United States, showing how these forces shaped classroom approaches. Drawing from lived experience, it argues for critical pedagogy and peace education so students become thoughtfully engaged citizens capable of helping build a more peaceful world.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages7

Reading Time11 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

My 9/11 Story

Enlistment and early responses

Deployment to Iraq and return

Commemoration, discrimination, and public discourse

Twenty Dangerous Years of “Forever War”

9/11 and Social Studies Education: A Critique of Perpetual War and the Possibility of a More Peaceful Future Scott Glew University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, USA [glew@umn.edu](glew@umn.edu) [https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7367-2025](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7367-2025) Article Info Received: March 24, 2021 Revised: June 28, 2021 Accepted: July 6, 2021 [https://doi.org/10.29173/css22](https://doi.org/10.29173/css22) This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the CC BY 4.0 International license. ([https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)) ABSTRACT In this article, the author shares a personal reflection of his military and educational experiences in the aftermath of 9/11 . He describes his concerns about the ongoing “War on Terror”and the disengaged militarism of the United States and how this has shaped his approach in the classroom. Expanding on his personal experiences, he calls for social studies educators to employ critical pedagogy and peace education to help students develop as thoughtfully and critically engaged citizens who are capable of creating a more peaceful world. KEYWORDS Democratic citizenship education; critical pedagogy; peace education Introduction Like most people who were alive on September 11, 2001, I have a 9/11 story. This story, which is now a memory that has also been shaped by my experiences since that day, is one that will provide context to this article as I share my personal and educational journey in relation to the attacks and the two decades since. It is these experiences that have shaped how I teach and contributed to the hopes that I have for social studies education being a possible catalyst to a more peaceful future. My 9/11 Story September 2001 marked the beginning of my final year of high school and, as I believe is common among students that age, I was both excited about my future and still trying to figure out exactly what I wanted to do with it. Those ambitions were temporarily suspended in the immediate aftermath of the 9/11 attacks—replaced with feelings of fear, confusion, and anger. But soon those ambitions and feelings combined in my young self as I tried to make sense of the events and find purpose in my future. Before the end of that eventful month, inspired by the tragedy of 9/11, my own sense of civic obligation, and my desire to do something purposeful with my future, I enlisted in the United States Army. I served in the military part-time as I pursued a university degree in social studies education. I enjoyed history, geography, and politics throughout high school and was excited to begin a career teaching these subjects. This path was put on hold upon graduation in the spring of 2006 as I was called to active duty to prepare for a 13-month deployment to Iraq. In the build up to that war, the connection sold to the public between Iraq and 9/11 made sense to me. The climate of fear allowed me to feel that drastic measures were acceptable in the name of safety and, like many others, contributed to my belief that all perceived threats should be eliminated at any cost. By the time I arrived in Iraq in 2007, I was skeptical of any meaningful connection. When I returned home in 2008, I was convinced that the death and destruction unleashed on Iraq and the world by the United States—justified throughout the media as a necessary response to the horrors we felt at home on 9/11—were morally and strategically indefensible. While I have been allowed and encouraged to share my story proudly, this permission has not been granted freely to all who experienced that day and its aftermath. As my story and stories like it have been elevated, Muslim Americans—and those who are perceived to be Muslim—have been unjustly labeled as terrorists, viewed with fear and suspicion, pressured into silence with their stories, and erased from our national narrative (Ghalaini, 2020) . Each annivers

FAQs

How does the author connect personal military experience to social studies teaching?

The author describes how his experiences after 9/11 shaped his concerns and classroom approach, motivating his hopes for social studies education as a catalyst for a more peaceful future.

What critique does the article make about the “War on Terror”?

It highlights ongoing “War on Terror” dynamics and the disengaged militarism of the United States, arguing that public interest has waned while human costs have persisted and expanded.

What approach does the article propose for social studies educators?

It calls for critical pedagogy and peace education to help students develop as critically engaged citizens able to create a more peaceful world.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by Jiven