[et_pb_section fb_built=”1″ _builder_version=”3.27.3″ custom_padding=”||0px|||” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.9.10″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”3.27.3″ global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_blurb url_new_window=”on” image=”https:\/\/usablehistory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Audra-Dipte\u0301e-Photo-scaled.jpg” icon_placement=”left” image_max_width=”48px” content_max_width=”1100px” _builder_version=”4.9.10″ header_font=”Cardo|700|||||||” header_font_size=”17px” body_font=”||||||||” body_font_size=”17px” body_line_height=”1em” link_option_url_new_window=”on” border_radii_image=”on|70px|70px|70px|70px” box_shadow_style_image=”preset1″ locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_blurb][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ text_font_size=”20px” text_orientation=”justify” max_width=”600px” module_alignment=”center” text_text_align=”justify” locked=”off” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
A few years ago, I taught a first-year university level World History course.\u00a0 It was scheduled for 8:30 on a Monday morning and, as might be expected, the lecture attendance was low. There were, however, a few very committed students.\u00a0 They would show up to lecture, take notes, and ask great questions.\u00a0 It was those students who kept me going.\u00a0 As I recall, only a minority of them were history majors.\u00a0 The rest were students majoring in Public Affairs, Economics, Journalism, and the other areas of study that they believed were \u2018useful\u2019 and would help them \u2018get jobs.\u2019<\/p>\n
At the end of the academic year, a number of these very keen students were to be awarded Certificates of Excellence at the annual undergraduate colloquium organized by the Department of History.\u00a0 They all showed up and also attended the reception that made it possible for them to informally mingle with faculty members.\u00a0 As I would find out, for the students, it was an opportunity to ask questions that they did not feel comfortable asking a professor in a classroom setting.<\/p>\n
[\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/usablehistory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/magazine-18.png” _builder_version=”3.27.3″ custom_margin=”49px||50px||false|false” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ text_font=”Cardo||||||||” text_text_color=”#2a2a2a” text_font_size=”42px” text_line_height=”1.4em” custom_margin=”||69px|||” text_font_size_tablet=”36px” text_font_size_phone=”24px” text_font_size_last_edited=”on|desktop” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n
It was an important turning point in how I would approach my work in the classroom.\u00a0 It was the moment when I began to think about teaching history radically<\/em>.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”20px” text_orientation=”justify” max_width=”600px” module_alignment=”center” min_height=”1137.2px” custom_margin=”||68px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n One of those students \u2013 let\u2019s call him \u2018The Very Bright Student from Public Affairs with a Knack for History\u201d \u2013 came up to me and said, very respectfully, something along the lines of \u201cProfessor \u2013 I really liked your course, but I need to ask you a question\u2026 What was the point of learning everything you taught us in that class?<\/em>\u201d\u00a0 As you might imagine, I was dumbfounded.\u00a0 I don\u2019t recall my answer at this point, but I do know that I have often reflected on that moment.\u00a0 Unknowingly, that student had alerted me to the fact that I had committed a major pedagogical \u201cfail\u201d. Over several months, I taught some very keen students and, at the end of their time with me, they left wondering about the relevance of what they had learnt.<\/p>\n That student was essentially saying, \u201cI liked your course but you didn\u2019t teach me how to use<\/em> the historical knowledge I now have.\u201d He was letting me know that I didn\u2019t show him how, as a student majoring in Public Affairs, his historical knowledge was to be applied<\/em>. As you might imagine, it was an important turning point in how I would approach my work in the classroom.\u00a0 It was the moment when I began to think about teaching history radically<\/em>.<\/p>\n Just so there is no confusion, I want to be clear about what I mean by \u2018teaching history radically.\u2019\u00a0 I am talking about employing a pedagogical approach that exposes students to the ways in which historical knowledge and methodologies can be used for social transformation<\/em>.\u00a0 This means teaching history in a way so that students understand how it is applied<\/em> beyond the boundaries of history as a discipline.\u00a0 So what does that look like?<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.9.10″ _module_preset=”default” text_text_color=”#0C71C3″ text_font_size=”30px” custom_padding=”||32px|||” box_shadow_style=”preset2″ global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n Below are 4 elements that need to be included in a radical<\/strong> teaching agenda:<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_text _builder_version=”4.10.3″ _module_preset=”default” text_font_size=”20px” text_orientation=”justify” max_width=”600px” module_alignment=”center” min_height=”986px” custom_margin=”||19px|||” global_colors_info=”{}”]<\/p>\n In some ways, our responsibility as educators to non-majors is even more burdensome than the responsibility we have to history majors.\u00a0 Students who major in history will take many history courses and will perhaps go on to graduate school.\u00a0 The non-history majors from economics, political science, and journalism (for example) may only ever take the one course you are teaching them.\u00a0 And heaven knows, if there is anything the world needs right now, it is more <\/em>non-historians who understand the value of history.\u00a0 Even better, if those people are economists, politicians, and journalists.\u00a0 Never forget the non-majors.\u00a0 We need them to understand how history works.<\/strong><\/p>\n Students enroll in history courses with all sorts of pre-conceived (flawed) ideas about the discipline.\u00a0 Dedicate class time to confronting those ideas and disabuse your students of them.\u00a0 Show them what history is not<\/u><\/em>, so that you can educate them about what history actually is \u2026 I\u2019ve created a list called What History is Not<\/em> that you might find useful for your students.\u00a0 Please feel free to use it in the classroom and to share it with your students.\u00a0 You can download it below.<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=”https:\/\/usablehistory.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Capture-de\u0301cran-le-2021-08-23-a\u0300-16.52.15.png” title_text=”Capture d\u2019e\u0301cran, le 2021-08-23 a\u0300 16.52.15″ _builder_version=”4.10.6″ _module_preset=”default” width=”63%” module_alignment=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_code _builder_version=”4.10.6″ _module_preset=”default” background_color=”RGBA(0,0,0,0)” width=”65%” module_alignment=”center” global_colors_info=”{}”]1.\u00a0 Never neglect the non-history majors.<\/strong><\/h4>\n
2.\u00a0 Teach students what history is not<\/u><\/em>.<\/strong><\/h4>\n