Abstract
A significant concept in educational literature in the past decade has been learning from mistakes. In this paper, we propose to
use this strategy to improve teaching the history of wars. Teaching through films is a common practice. Social science and history
teachers constantly seek for accurate cinematic examples to demonstrate the phenomenon. However, we offer a change in
approach, tracing the errors in cinematic versions of historical wars. Searching for mistakes makes students critical toward media
narratives, pinpoints their knowledge of history, establishes an evidence-based argument, distinguishes between primary and
secondary sources, etc. The research tool focused on the analysis of three battles from different historical periods: Troy as a
representation of antiquity, Henry V for the late Middle Ages, and 1917 for modern times. The selected films are relatively new
versions from the 21st century. The cinematic language is familiar to the current student generation, as well as the actors, which
may help them make the subject accessible. The proposed teaching method involves screening the film, grouping students into
teams, and announcing a competitive assignment. Students are asked to document as many gaps and mistakes between cinematic
fiction and reality as it emerges from historical sources. The gaps can be expressed in concrete differences such as the motives for
war and its duration. However, it is more interesting to direct students to locate normative gaps, such as the reflection of class
differences, expectations from a leader, and the ethics of wars in historical realities and contemporary cinematic versions.
use this strategy to improve teaching the history of wars. Teaching through films is a common practice. Social science and history
teachers constantly seek for accurate cinematic examples to demonstrate the phenomenon. However, we offer a change in
approach, tracing the errors in cinematic versions of historical wars. Searching for mistakes makes students critical toward media
narratives, pinpoints their knowledge of history, establishes an evidence-based argument, distinguishes between primary and
secondary sources, etc. The research tool focused on the analysis of three battles from different historical periods: Troy as a
representation of antiquity, Henry V for the late Middle Ages, and 1917 for modern times. The selected films are relatively new
versions from the 21st century. The cinematic language is familiar to the current student generation, as well as the actors, which
may help them make the subject accessible. The proposed teaching method involves screening the film, grouping students into
teams, and announcing a competitive assignment. Students are asked to document as many gaps and mistakes between cinematic
fiction and reality as it emerges from historical sources. The gaps can be expressed in concrete differences such as the motives for
war and its duration. However, it is more interesting to direct students to locate normative gaps, such as the reflection of class
differences, expectations from a leader, and the ethics of wars in historical realities and contemporary cinematic versions.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | 10th International research conference in Education, Language, and Literature. May 2, Tbilisi, Georgia |
| Publisher | IRCEELT Conferences |
| Pages | 178-186 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| State | Published - 2 May 2020 |
| Event | 10th International research conference in Education, Language, and Literature. - Tbilisi, Georgia Duration: 1 May 2020 → 2 May 2020 |
Conference
| Conference | 10th International research conference in Education, Language, and Literature. |
|---|---|
| Country/Territory | Georgia |
| City | Tbilisi |
| Period | 1/05/20 → 2/05/20 |
Keywords
- Learning from mistakes
- History of wars
- Teaching through films
- Evidence-based argument
- Problem-based learning