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?