Learning about history can be one of the most satisfying experiences of your life. If you are genuinely into history, pursuing the subject as a potential career choice can be one of the best decisions you’ve ever made. Not only will you harvest a ton of information about the past, but you will also open yourself to the chance of a career like no other. Studying history is one of the most interesting academic subjects to be a part of and can give you an extremely satisfying career.
Incredible artworks like that of Picasso’s Guernica provide some unique traces of the past. The painting has gained massive fame due to its uniqueness in describing the reality of history. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, which can’t be more accurate when we use art to convey historical facts and details.
Art in itself is so diverse that it can teach you a multitude of subjects. Moreover, visual and auditory stimulation is known to enhance the learning process and encourage information retention. However, the use of art to teach history has not been a subject to many. Here are a few reasons you should consider using art to teach history.
Table of Contents
It breaks the monotony
One of the most significant issues that history majors face is that the subject can be incredibly dull. Students have to go through hundreds of pages to gain a holistic understanding of the past. Not only is this incredibly boring, but reproducing all that information can be a painful task! However, modern history courses are incorporating art into their curriculum to make it enjoyable and understandable.
Changing things up and showing artistic qualities such as paintings etc., encourage them to focus on the symbolism behind the art and gain a deeper understanding of the events that transpired. With the diversity in modern education, technology has played a significant role in aiding the learning process. It is easier than ever to pursue a degree in history as online features have made the course accessible to everyone. If you are looking for a bachelor of arts in history online, now is the time to enroll.
Conveys emotions
Since art provides a more transparent view of the historical details, students may also benefit from the sheer emotions which some art forms can convey through their expression. One such example is war literature, which has produced some of the most memorable poems depicting war’s nasty effects. ‘Dulce et Decorum’ is just one of the examples of how emotional a war can be. Owen perfectly encompassed the very human aspect of war and the effects which it has on human psychology.
Merely reading about these events in a textbook might not do justice to the said events. To understand the past happenings, you need to feel the emotions that were going on.
Helps visualize
As we mentioned earlier, aural and visual stimulation can significantly help the retention process. Exposure to such mediums can help you learn better and reproduce past lessons. As with the example of Guernica, we see the depiction of the event clearer than we might have imagined. Though this specific piece of art in question is somewhat abstract, the piece’s visual appeal still encourages the creation of a mental picture. Students can either visualize the image in front of them or use the art to experience the past better.
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Once you have a mental image in your mind, you begin to understand a situation better. Try it for yourself. Visualize what you thought the Second World War was like and then go online and look at the events’ artistic depictions. It will undoubtedly change your perspective on what you think you know about the events and perhaps give you a more realistic view of the incidents.
A newfound appreciation for art
After exposure to art as a medium to understand history, many students might develop an independent liking for art. Once they realize how exciting art can be and the depth of information it can convey, people begin to delve deeper into the subject to find out more about it. It is reasonably typical for a history major to be walking around with their history books and a set of war literature poems. The natural curiosity which one has for the arts comes through when art acts as an aid to the learning process.
Therefore, we see thousands of students developing an appreciation for various kinds of arts after they have used IT as a medium to learn history.
Conclusion
The emotion, the visualization, and the stories art tells are priceless. Incorporating art in history is one of the best things you can do as a teacher. Doing so will ensure that your students better understand the events and internalize the message better. Therefore, if you have the chance to mix art and history and experience the glorious marriage of the two, it would be perfect to grab the opportunity.
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