What is Real History? Historical Literacy and The Australian Curriculum: History

Sue Burvill-ShawHead of Humanities

St Aidan’s Anglican Girls’ School

Today’s Aim

What do we mean by “Historical Literacy”?

How can I help my students to develop Historical

Literacy?

What is Historical Literacy?

(From the 2010 document)Rationale

“History is a disciplined inquiry into the past that

develops students' curiosity and imagination. It

develops understanding of cultural, social and

political events, processes and issues that have

shaped humanity from earliest times.

(page 1)

History, as a discipline, has its own methods and

procedures that make it different from other ways of

understanding human experience. … …

It is interpretative by nature, promotes debate and

encourages thinking … …”

(page 1)

Implications?

History Literacy, then is the literacy skills needed by

students to conduct “a disciplined inquiry into the

past”.

These include:

What is “Historical Literacy”?

1. What do I already know about Historical Literacy?

2. What questions does my group have about Historical Literacy?

4. What are the implications of Historical Literacy for my teaching?

3. What have we learned about Historical Literacy?

(page 2)

Developing Historical Thinking

"Historical thinking, like other forms of disciplinary

thinking, begins with clear-eyed wonder before the

world. But questioning is an extraordinarily difficult skill

for most students, probably because for their whole lives

teachers and textbooks have posed the questions for

them ("Write an essay on the following question . . .").

Feeding students a steady diet of other people's

questions is a sure-fire prescription for mental

dyspepsia (page 11)

… … the first move students need to learn is

that of asking good historical questions. To this

end the first meeting in every unit is designed to

intensify students' desire to inquire." (Lendol

Calder, 2006)

(page 11)

What is Historical Thinking?

The Canadian Centre for the Study of Historical

Consciousness argues “that historical thinking —

like scientific thinking in science instruction and

mathematical thinking in math instruction — is central

to history instruction”

Peter Seixas:

Focuses on "three ways of dealing

with...conflicting interpretation of the past" (p. 20).

1. "best story" approach- "historical knowledge

appears as something fixed by authority rather than

subject to investigation, debate, and its own system of

warrants" (p. 23). – the ‘Grand Narrative’ of the past.

(page 3)

2. History as an exercise in Disciplined Knowledge;

as a Way of Knowing- an emphasis upon historical

concepts and skills, their vital relationship with

knowledge, and the importance of historical inquiry.

(page 3)

3. The Postmodern approach- "the task for students in

the third orientation is not so much to arrive at a "best"

or most valid position on the basis of historical

evidence as to understand how different groups

organize the past into histories and how their rhetorical

and [narrative] strategies serve present day purposes"

(p. 20-21). (page 3)

Seixas poses the question: "Understanding their

interplay, can we find ways to introduce their various

insights at different levels of schooling, while mitigating

their weaknesses by being alert to their dangers and

flaws?" (p. 32).

Implications?

To teach students to think like a historian

and work like a historian…

We need to be able to think like

historians!

What is History?

“… … history is a narrative about the

past written in the here and now, rather

than some distanced mirror of it … …”

Munslow, Professor Alun, October 2001, What history is, viewed July 17, 2005,

http://www.history.ac.uk/ihr/Focus/Whatishistory/munslow6.html

(page 4)

history is a narrative about the past

written in the here and now, rather than

some distanced mirror of it

What is Historiography?

Literally, the word means "the writing of history." In

modern usage, however, the word refers to the study

of the way history has been and is written--the

history of historical writing.

SOURCE: Conal Furay and Michael J. Salevouris, 1979, The Methods and Skills of History: A Practical

Guide Wheeling, Ill.: Harlan Davidson, pp 223-4, 231. (page 5)

History: Meaning and Method

“The primary sources of historiography are the

works of historians. … …”

SOURCE: Donald V. Gawronski, 1975, History: Meaning and Method, 3rd ed. , Glenview,

Ill.: Scott, Foresman and Company, pp 59-60. (page 6)

The Language of Historiography

DIRECTIONS: Match each of the following terms

with the definitions below.Ethnocentrism Representativene

ssCredible Tentative

Perspective Corroboration Evidence Analysis

Source Partial Reflection Interpretation

Evaluation Historiography

Hypothesis Ideology

(page 7)

ANALYSING A CARTOON

The author, Gary Larson,

How reliable and representative is this cartoon?

(page 8)

ANALYSING A CARTOON

HINT:

•What aspects did the cartoonist get right?

•What aspects did the cartoonist get wrong?

•What aspects of Viking life are covered?

•What aspects of Viking life are not covered?

•How do the nature of the source and its context of production affect

its reliability and representativeness?

(page 8)

USING CARTOONS AS EVIDENCE

(page 9)

WORKING WITH HERODOTUS

Can we trust Herodotus? Some people call him the Father of History, but other people call him the Father of Lies. Read the biographical details below and decide whether it supports the claim he was a good historian or an untrustworthy historian for a study of Ancient Egypt. Highlight each fact and match it to the claim you think it supports. Be ready to explain your choices.

(page 10)

TEACHING HISTORY WITH FILM

“Unlike other secondary sources such as textbooks or

documentary film, which are viewed by many teachers

as inherently ‘accurate’ because of their perceived

neutral, authorless tone, Hollywood films are often

recognised by teachers as a challenge in terms of

historical accuracy.” (pg 91-92)(page 12)

“Therefore, teachers and students can approach film

as they would any source, considering issues of

context and sourcing, such as analysing the purpose

and background of the author or ‘source’ of the

document, while also comparing film to other

secondary and primary sources, activities crucial to

using film as a primary source as well.” (pg 92)

(page 12)

Reflection…

What have we learned about

how we might help students

develop historical literacy?

Any Questions?