Learning Center: Oregon Studies: History Education
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History Education: Approaches to History (Historiography)
Armitage, Susan. “From the Inside Out: Rewriting Regional History.” Frontiers 22:3 (2001): 32-46. Professor Armitage provides a concise overview of the state of historical studies on the Pacific Northwest, including important changes over the past twenty years. While lauding these changes, Armitage calls for a further re-examination of the region’s past—one that can provide a broader, more balanced view. She emphasizes the need for studies that challenge both notions of “progress,” and “inevitability,” and the tendency to cast Euro-Americans as the central actors in Pacific Northwest history.
Foner, Eric, ed. The New American History. Rev. ed. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1997. This volume boasts a collection of review essays that examine developments in historical studies in the United States over the past several decades. The articles cover a range of topics and are divided into two sections. The first offers chapters on specific historical eras from the colonial period through the late twentieth century. The second includes essays on specific themes, such as labor, minorities, women, sexuality, social and cultural history, and western history.
Gilderhus, Mark T. History and Historians: A Historiographical Introduction. 4th ed. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2000. Now in its fourth edition, History and Historians is a classic introductory text to the study of history at the collegiate level. Gilderhus provides a survey of historical thinking in the Western tradition from ancient times to the preset. The author also tackles issues such as historiography, the philosophy of history, and historical methodology.
Kammen, Carol. On Doing Local History: Reflections on What Local Historians Do, Why, and What it Means. Nashville: The Association for State and Local History, 1986. As a standard text on local history, this volume can assist educators in designing projects that can tie students to their nearby communities. Kammen offers examples of specific problems that arise in the study of local communities, while also emphasizing the need for placing local histories within larger historical narratives.
Mihesuah, Devon, ed. Natives and Academics: Researching and Writing about American Indians. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1998. This volume is a collection of essays by Native American scholars touching on questions of research methods and ethics. Akin to Linda Smith’s argument in Decolonizing Methodologies, the authors in this collection argue that non-Indians continue to control and benefit from scholarly and popular representations of Native peoples. Each of the essays offers a thought-provoking discussion about how to address the marginalization of Native groups within academic and the larger North American culture.
Smith, Linda Tuhiwai. Decolonizing Methodologies: Research and Indigenous Peoples. New York: Zed Books, 1999. In Decolonizing Methodologies Maori scholar Linda Tuhiwai Smith offers a vigorous intellectual critique of Western notions of “research” about Indigenous peoples. In linking Western traditions of scholarship with imperialism and the experiences of colonized peoples, she calls for a new intellectual framework that underscores Indigenous systems of knowledge and belief.
History Education: Teaching Materials
Braun, Joseph A. and Frederick Risinger. Surfing Social Studies: The Internet Book. Washington D.C.: National Council for the Social Studies, 1999. This volume offers an introduction to the use of internet technologies in the classroom. In addition to sections on teaching applications and resources and educational websites, the collection addresses the history and ethics of internet use in the classroom.
Davidson, James West and Mark Hamilton Lytle. After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection. 4th ed. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2000. After the Fact presents a series of in-depth case studies in American history that allow students to explore the historian’s craft. Issues addressed include: the selection of historical evidence, historical perspective, document analysis, and the reliance on broader historical theory. As such, the volume is appropriate for the high school and college levels.
Edinger, Monica and Stephanie Finis. Far Away and Long Ago: Young Historians in the Classroom. York, ME: Stenhouse Publishers, 1998. Edinger and Finis provide practical teaching suggestions and professional resources in this volume. Using Edinger’s classroom as a case study, the authors test project-based and imaginative learning approaches to teaching history. Unit examples in this volume focus on Natives Americans, English colonists, and other Euro-American immigrants.
Hoodless, Pat, ed. History and English in the Primary School: Exploiting the Links. New York: Routledge, 1998. Contributors to this collection support the theory that history is a literary, language-based subject. Consequently, it should be taught using a holistic approach that emphasizes thinking, talking, reading, and writing activities. The essays present examples from this perspective that highlight storytelling, oral history, visual learning, and young people’s concepts of time.
Kyvig, David E. and Myron E. Marty. Nearby History: Exploring the Past around You. 2nd ed. Walnut Creek, Calif.: Alta Mira Press, 2000. Since its first printing, Nearby History has served a handbook for teachers interested in creating projects connected to local communities. Topics addressed: include how to investigate community and family history, working with local institutions, and using cultural artifacts and photographs. The authors also offer instructions on collecting information through oral interviews and ways to connect local research to broader historical issues.
Levstik, Linda S. and Keith C. Barton. Doing History: Investigating with Children in Elementary and Middle Schools. 2nd ed. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2001. Levstik and Barton argue that history education is best achieved through activities that actively challenge children to think historically. To that end, the authors provide examples of activities such as developing questions, connecting with personal histories, reading children’s literature, and creating artwork.
Ritchie, Donald W. Doing Oral History. New York: Twayne Publishers, 1995. This volume addresses the Oral History Association’s guidelines on the practice and teaching of oral history. In addition to the discussion of theory and methods, Ritchie gives practical advice on how to carry out oral history projects.
Schamel, Wynell B. Teaching with Documents: Using Primary Sources from the National Archives. Vol. 2. Washington D.C.: National Archives/National Council for the Social Studies, 1998. Schamel presents examples of primary documents and provides direction on how to incorporate them into the classroom. The examples include government documents, letters, diaries, photographs, charts, and reports.
Schulz, Constance, et al. Careers for Students of History. Chapel Hill: American Historical Association, 2002. This booklet, prepared by the American Historical Association, demonstrates how students can translate the study of history into employment in a variety of professional fields. Examples of such fields include work in education, museums, publishing, historic preservation, archives, and government. The editors introduce the various fields with a general overview, and then present individual life stories that highlight the various types of employment available.
Tunnell, Michael O. and Richard Ammon, eds. The Story of Ourselves: Teaching History through Children’s Literature. Portsmouth, NH: Heinemann, 1993. The essays in this collection argue that a creative way to teach history to youngsters is to integrate it with the study of literature. Such an approach gives students the opportunity to analyze texts for their historical accuracy. This volume also shares practical applications for structuring history units based on reading adolescent literature.
Wineburg, Sam. Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts: Charting the Future of Teaching the Past. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2001. Wineburg, a professor of history and education, offers readers an engaging collection of essays on history education. The essays are varied, covering case studies and fields studies, as well as topics such as the current state of research on the teaching and learning of history. Throughout, Wineburg ponders three main questions: 1) Why teach history? 2) How do children and adults conceive of the past? and 3) How does educational background influence the teaching of history?
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