The Arts and the Teaching of History Historical F(r)ictions

This book closely examines the pedagogical possibilities of integrating the arts into history curriculum at the secondary and post-secondary levels.

“This book is essential reading for academics, professionals, and others. Diverse and dynamic, coherent and focused, Sears and Clark raise fascinating issues about how art is created and what it can tell us about ourselves and others in the past and present.”
—Ian Davies, Professor, Department of Education, University of York, UK

“Every history teacher will want to read this book, which is without question the most thoughtful and complex treatment of the arts in teaching history. Numerous compelling and in-depth examples show how fiction and the visual arts can develop sophisticated understandings of the nature of historical interpretation. The authors’ attention to Indigenous perspectives, marginalized voices, and collective memory further enhances the reach and significance of this indispensable contribution to history education.”
—Keith C. Barton, Professor, Department of Curriculum & Instruction and Coordinator of the Doctoral Program in Curriculum Studies, Indiana University, USA

This book closely examines the pedagogical possibilities of integrating the arts into history curriculum at the secondary and post-secondary levels. Students encounter expressions of history every day in the form of fiction, paintings, and commemorative art, as well as other art forms. Research demonstrates it is often these more informal encounters with history that define students’ knowledge and understandings rather than the official accounts present in school curricula. This volume will provide educators with tools to bring together these parallel tracks of history education to help enrich students’ understandings and as a mechanism for students to present their own emerging historical perspectives.

Penney Clark is Professor of Social Studies Education in the Department of Curriculum and Pedagogy at the University of British Columbia, Canada. She is co-editor of Historical Studies in Education.

Alan Sears is Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Education at the University of New Brunswick, Canada. He is former editor of Citizenship Teaching and Learning.