Forum Spring 2000: Integrating Humanities Classes with Historical Storytelling

I teach a two-semester integrated humanities class entitled "Ideas and Values in the Humanities." The first semester starts with Ancient River Valley Civilizations and proceeds chronologically to the European Renaissance. The second semester starts with the Renaissance and concludes with the Modern World. Civilizations in Asia, Africa, and the Americas are touched upon along with those in Europe.

The first part of my MIL fellowship project is to research and craft in-depth stories of five people from the cultures we study in the second semester of the course. In addition to giving a glimpse into the life of each famous person, I hope to embed the important ideas and values of the people in this particular culture at this particular time.

Needless to say, my biggest challenge has been choosing whom to research. For the Renaissance, I chose Sir Thomas More (1478-1535), the Lord Chancellor to King Henry VIII of England, who gave up his life rather than compromise his belief that the Pope in Rome was the head of the Christian Church. More was really a Medieval man living at a time when the world around him was beginning to reflect Renaissance values. For the Baroque time period, I chose Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz (1648?-1695), the Spanish Baroque poet, playwright, and essayist from Mexico. She lived during the time of the Spanish Inquisition, when ideas and people were censored by the Roman Catholic Church. Women were expected to learn homemaking skills and marry or enter the convent where they were "married to Christ." A woman like Juana Inez Ramirez, who lived for learning, and who was a poor, illegitimate creole, faced many challenges. From the European Enlightenment, I chose Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756 - 1791), the Classical composer. I chose Mozart because I love his music and lately much has been written regarding the effects of his music on learning. Representing the Early Twentieth Century, I chose Frida Kahlo (1904?-1954), a Mexican painter married to the muralist Diego Rivera, who overshadowed her during her lifetime. However, her reputation is continuing to grow. For the Age of Affluence, my last subject was Jean-Paul Sartre (1905?-1980), the father of Existentialism. He lived in France during the Nazi occupation of the Second World War. I chose him because students have difficulty understanding the concept of Existentialism. I hope that knowledge of Sartre's life experiences will help them to understand his ideas.

The second part of my project is assessment. I gave students a test at the beginning of the semester to determine their knowledge of these five people. At the end of the semester, I will conduct a post-assessment test to see if they report additional knowledge. I am also monitoring mention of these people in the essay exams students write at the end of each unit of study. In the past, I noticed that students always included details from literary stories I told in class as examples in their essay exams. This semester I am recording this evidence as it relates to my project. At the conclusion of spring semester, I will analyze the results.

This Maricopa Institute for Learning Fellowship has allowed me the time to do research and develop stories I would not normally have the luxury of doing. Additionally, the assessment analyses I am doing will document the value of using historical stories in an integrated humanities class.