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Introducing Students to Historiography in the AP European History Classroom
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by Paul Hibbeln
Ohio State University
Columbus, Ohio
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| | An Ongoing Dialogue
The never-ending development of historical interpretation is familiar to historians and teachers of history. Most commonly, this is revealed as a dialogue "between the present and the past," in the words of noted historian E. H. Carr. New generations often reinterpret evidence in light of recent events and regularly reevaluate the thinking of previous generations. Historians also constantly discover new evidence, and often historiographical change comes with an increased emphasis on this new information. One example of this process is the limited opening of archives in the former Soviet Union to Western historians, which has resulted in substantial changes in historical views of the Cold War. In addition, historians often emphasize certain aspects of historical events differently, either because they study particular figures or topics, or because they undergird their theses with different documents, policies, or demographic clues. The result is a constant process of reinterpretation and considerable debate among historians.
Historiography is therefore an important component of historical education at the secondary level. Acquainting students with historiography and with some notable historiographical debates can provide them with valuable tools. It can spark classroom discussion and give students valuable experience articulating arguments based on the evidence. It is useful for writing essays and papers, in that it armors students against the inadvertent misuse of sources. In the same vein, historiography gives them the skill to rigorously interpret documents and other pieces of evidence. This will serve them well in all manner of academic pursuits, including Advanced Placement Exams.
Evolving Interpretations
In a larger sense, historiographical debates force students to confront the difficult questions of interpretation, the existence of "truth" in history, and the different ways historians use evidence. Most students quickly understand that facts and evidence are critical to historical interpretation. However, the conflicting emphases on different forms of evidence or the weight given to particular factors can change the meaning of events. As they reach an advanced level, students must be aware of this. Instructors may or may not be interested or able to get students to engage with the slippery nature of historical truth and the limits of "objective facts," where historians can vehemently, but legitimately, disagree about the evidence and its importance. Nevertheless students should understand that over time, historical interpretations change as older works are superceded by new evidence, new biographical information, and the opening of archives. In fact, exposing students to this evolution can itself be a valuable tool because it illuminates the important facets of many historical events. Instructors can use a lesson or a discussion of the "what is history?" type, perhaps centered around the changing historical view of one figure or event, to illustrate the value of comparing historical sources.
In this way students will come to understand that historiography is a guide for evaluating their own interpretation of historical events. It helps them structure their own thinking, in that it encourages them to consider different ways of viewing the same evidence as well as ask why historians would do the same -- as did those who wrote on the First World War. Further, students can see the value of evidence itself and its different forms: statistical information versus a leader's speech, for instance. It also teaches them to consider the many different answers to vexed historical questions: Who caused World War I? What was the effect of nationalism on a particular era in modern European history? How should they consider the views of generals or the men on the front lines? Were the short- or long-term causes or consequences of an event more significant? What is more important, the intent behind an action or its result? Why does one not always flow from the other? However a teacher gets students to examine different historians or different forms of history, students will be rewarded with a deeper sense of history.
Learning by Doing
One hands-on way of focusing students on the use of historiography as a framework for understanding historical events is the comparative problem essay. The typical European history class is probably crowded with topics and assignments, but teachers who have students write substantial essays may find it very useful to involve students with historiography in a preliminary assignment, or perhaps part of a larger paper, which addresses a particular historical event as a problem. A comparative essay (which can be quite brief -- perhaps three double-spaced pages) can have them find two historians who disagree on the facts or the importance of an event. This is particularly easy to do where major wars are concerned, such as the Crimean War, the Franco-Prussian War, or World War I. Often there are a bewildering number of different interpretations. Students might select two histories of one event and detail the differences in approach and evaluation. It is likely students will not address the historiographical issues thoroughly, but even basic comparison, if students understand they are looking for differences in the evidence used and the approach taken, will be valuable and can form the basis for class discussion of why historians interpret events differently.
Teachers seeking an approach with more structured goals may find it productive to construct a rigorous assignment for the entire class. For example, several exciting debates over the origins of the World Wars exist and are accessible to students at an introductory level. There are also many other issues to explore. Instructors can find a historiographic essay or article, perhaps the introduction of a useful book, and assign it to students along with a selection of two or more different interpretations of the origins of the particular war. Students can then be directed to examine the evidence in the selections and make conclusions about the different schools of interpretation, but more importantly, how they emphasize different people, events, or policies.
Finally, teachers who find it difficult to incorporate new material into an already crowded course may find it more expedient to modify a lesson or series of lessons on related topics (World War I is again a good example). It might address historiographical issues, perhaps even introducing historians and their thinking about particular events. Particularly intrepid instructors might present evidence to a class in an outline, present some historiographical schools, and encourage students to debate the validity of the interpretive frameworks on the basis of the evidence. Whatever method the teacher chooses to use, the introduction to students of the existence of historiography and its importance to history and historical thinking will serve them well in both the short and long term.
Additional Resources
There are a number of books on the craft of history and the importance of historiography. Some are more accessible to students than others, but the spectrum of debate over the meaning of history makes it difficult for teachers because the amount of reading (and frequent references to different historians or problems) is more than most students have time for. Selections from the following, however, may be very useful for defining topics. The Butterfield essay is quite old, but it frames the question of historiography very well in a way students will grasp instinctively.
Bloch, Marc. The Historian's Craft. New York: Vintage, 1953.
Butterfield, Herbert. "Moral Judgement in History." History and Human Relations. New York: Macmillan, 1953.
Carr, E. H. What Is History? New York: Random House, 1961.
Novick, Peter. That Noble Dream. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
There are also many anthologies, readers, and other sources for finding historical debates framed by scholars and easily presented to students. Most of these will identify the ideological position of the historians involved or will comment more or less extensively on the ways in which particular evidence has been used. In recent years, Houghton-Mifflin has reissued the D. C. Heath readers many may remember. Other publishers have equivalent series. Some notable recent examples include:
Conklin, Alice, and Ian Fletcher, eds. European Imperialism, 1830-1930. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1999.
Eubank, Keith. World War II, Roots and Causes. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1992.
Harbutt, Fraser J. The Cold War Era. Oxford: Blackwell, 2002.
Herwig, Holger, ed. The Outbreak of World War I. 6th ed. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1997.
Keylor, William. The Legacy of the Great War: Peacemaking, 1919. Boston: Houghton-Mifflin, 1998.
Other potentially useful books teachers might consider when beginning to put together different sources for assignments follow. This list is by no means comprehensive, but it may serve as a profitable starting point.
Kennedy, Paul. The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers. New York: Vintage, 1987.
Kershaw, Ian. Hitler, 1889-1945. 2 vols. New York: W. W. Norton, 1999-2000.
Lieven, Dominic. The Aristocracy in Europe, 1815-1914. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993.
Winter, Dennis. Death's Men: Soldiers of the Great War. New York: Penguin, 1978.
1 E. H. Carr, What Is History? (New York: Random House, 1961), 35.
2 One useful source for instructors and students on the difficulty of relying solely on the "facts" of history is Peter Novick, That Noble Dream (Cambridge University Press, 1988).
3 Some other fruitful topics include the origins and progress of industrialization, the status and power of women in nineteenth-century Europe, the 1919 Paris Peace Conference and its consequences, and European imperialism. For the instructor, the most important consideration is the access to appropriate information on the subject that presents the issue or event as a problem. Some examples are located in the Additional Resources section.
Paul Hibbeln is a senior lecturer in European history at Ohio State University. His article appears exclusively on AP Central through a collaboration agreement between the Teaching Institute of Ohio State University's Department of History and the College Board.
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