Historical Nonfiction for Teaching History

Catalog description

This course is an intensive study of different nonfiction history texts and the historical interpretations they offer for K-12 social studies teaching and curriculum. Through engaging with these texts and their ideas, the student will gain stronger understanding of historical research and scholarship broadly and on particular topics to apply to history education. Works of historical nonfiction include-and often combine features from across-the following different types: - academic historiography (original historical research for specialized audiences) - public scholarship (intellectual writing for informed public audiences) - popular history (texts that don't require extensive prior knowledge for mass audiences) - narrative history (factual storytelling to inform and entertain). Focus is on learning to analyze historical nonfiction for factual evidence, claims, warrants, concepts, and interpretations that can support intellectually rigorous instruction and curriculum design. Course exercises will give the student opportunities to think about age-appropriate adaptation of complex historical content. Students will learn to synthesize conclusions from across texts to form generalizations that address compelling questions for K-12 history education..