Historical Empathy and Its Implications for Classroom Practices in Schools

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Society for History Education

Historical Empathy and Its Implications for Classroom Practices in SchoolsAuthor(s): Kaya YilmazSource: The History Teacher, Vol. 40, No. 3 (May, 2007), pp. 331-337Published by: Society for History Education

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Historicalmpathynd ts mplicationsorClassroomracticesnSchools

KayaYilmazMarmaraUniversity,stanbul, urkey

MANY RESEARCH TUDIEShave hown ow tudentsngage ithhistoricalocuments,ake ense f he ast,nddevelop istoricaln-derstandingo constructheirwnhistoricalnowledge.ome f hesestudiesave ealtpecificallyithmpathy.definempathyrhistoricalimaginationsthe bilityo see andudge he ast n ts wn ermsytryingounderstandhementality,ramesfreference,eliefs,alues,intentions,nd ctions fhistoricalgentssing varietyfhistoricalevidence.

mpathys the kill ore-enacthehoughtf historicalgent

inone'smind r he bilityoview heworlds twas een y he eoplein he astwithoutmposingoday'salues n he ast. his rticleimsto ynthesizehecholarlyiteratureboutmpathy,rawingn heworksofboth ast nd ecentcholarshipnhistoryducation.twill how oweducationalesearchersnd isciplinaryistoriansave iewed,iscussed,and tudiedhenotionfhistoricalmpathytbothhe heoreticalndthe mpiricalevels.twill irstinpointhe onceptualssuesurround-ing he ermnd henmove n o xplainhe ffortso ranslatehe erm

fromheorynto ractice.Debates bout heMeaningf heTerm

Thediscussion usteginy xaminingffortsodefinehe otionfTheHistory eacher Volume 0 Number May2007 a KayaYilmaz

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332 KayaYilmaz

historicalmpathyithts ifferentimensions.ependingnwherehetermsused,t akes nquite ifferenteanings.ecausempathys as-

sumedopurportheffectiveomainfhumankillsnpeople's verydayuse, too ommonly,eoplemisunderstandistoricalmpathyssympathyorkindf ppreciativeentiment.his nderstandingf mpathyeansdevelopingpositivettituderfeelingowardn ndividual,vent,rsituation."'ithinhe cholarlyommunity,he ermsassignediversemeaningsydifferentisciplines.ornstance,n he ield f sychologyempathysdefinedn eventeeneparate ays.2 hetherny f hemean-ings hat sychologistsssignoempathyanbeapplicableothe tudy

ofhistorysdiscussedyeducationesearchers.t sarguedhatll ofpsychologists'ssigned eaningsf he ermmpathyre f imitedseinhistoryn hatheresa conceptualifferenceetweenistorians'ndpsychologists'ntendedse of he erm.While istoriansre oncernedwithnderstandinghe ast r he istanceetweenhe ast nd resent,psychologistsre oncernedith he resentorld,nd hus re ble oestablishreciprocalontextor contemporaryelationship.3

For istorians,mpathyeferso combinationfntellectualndmagi-nativeapacity.4he ermometimessused sasynonymorperspective

taking."'5akingconnectionetweenistoricalmpathyndhistoricalunderstanding,ee andAshbyefinehe erms"the bilityo see andentertainsconditionallyppropriate,onnectionsetweenntentions,ir-cumstances,nd ctions,nd o eehow ny articularerspectiveouldactuallyave ffectedctionsnparticularircumstances."6ccordingoBarton,istoricalmpathys thekill orecognizeow eoplen he astviewedheirircumstances,valuatedheirpinions,ade ecisions,ndhow heirerceptionserehapedy heiralues,eliefs,nd ttitudes.7Likewise,owney,ho refershe ermperspectiveaking"o he erm

historicalmpathy,efineshe erms the bilityounderstandistoricalcharacters'ramesf eferencen he asis fhistoricalactsnd ventswithoutryingo dentifyr ympathizeithheireelings.8

Viewingmpathys a second-order,tructural,ndmetahistoricalon-cept, eestateshatempathyends obe used omean he xplanationeitherf ctiontself,rof hedeas, eliefsndvalues hatie behindactionsnd ocial nstitutions."'anSledrightxplainsistoricalmpathyintermsfwhat t s not: Empathyoesnot ake he ormf simpleand

emporaryropensitytofeel ike'or walk n the hoes f' those

who ived efores as thoughhey ere s.' Ratheristoricalmpathydemandsonsiderablehoughtfulffort."10ntheNationaltandardsorhistory,mpathys defineds"thebilityodescribehe ast hroughheeyes nd xperiencesf hose howere here,s revealedhroughheirliterature,rt, rtifacts,nd heike,nd oavoidpresent-mindedness,'

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Historicalmpathynd ts mplications 333

judginghe ast olelyn ermsf he ormsnd alues f oday.""

TheNaturend CharacteristiceaturesfHistoricalmpathy

Educationesearchersave suallyxplainedhenaturefhistoricalempathyithinhe ontextfhistoricalnquiryndhistoricalnderstand-ing. hey ave eferredo ndmade se f isciplinaryistoryerspectivein lucidatingheharacteristiceaturesfhistoricalmpathy.hats, heirframesf eferenceithespectohistoricalmpathyre enerallyasedondisciplinaryistory.or nstance,oster as claimedhat istorical

empathyies t he ore fhistorical

nquiry.12imilarly,avishas

rgued,"Empathyonstitutesneofthe ssentiallementsfhistoricalhink-ing nd igorousistoricalnquiryhat esultndeepenednderstandingwithinontext.or hemost art,t s ntellectualnnature,ut ertainlyitmayncludemotionalimensions."13ssertinghat istoricalmpathyshould ot e based implyn exercisesn magination,veridentifica-tion,r ympathy,osterndYeagertate,Thedevelopmentfhistori-calempathyn tudentssa considerednd ctiverocess,mbeddednthehistoricalmethod."a4akingntoccounthenature,rocesses,nd

purposesfdisciplinaryistoryndhistoricalnquiryithinhe ontextof econdarychool lassrooms,osteras dentifiedix haracteristicsorcomponentsfhistoricalmpathyn ermsfwhatmpathynvolvesordoesnot nvolve. ispointsre sfollows. istoricalmpathy:

* does otnvolvemagination,dentification,r ympathy,* involvesnderstandingeople'sctionsn he ast,* involvesthroughppreciationfhistoricalontext,* demandsultipleormsf videncend erspective,* requirestudentso xamineheirwn erspectives,*

encouragesell-groundedut entativeonclusions.'5WhatDoes tTake oEngagenHistoricalmpathy?

Engagingnhistoricalmpathysboth emandingnd hallengingorstudentsvent he nowledgeevel,he owestankf ducationalbjec-tives. irst f ll, tudents ust nowmore atherhan eweristoricalfacts,oncepts,ndnterpretationsopracticempathy.16ikewise,n rderto uccessfullymploynddevelop istoricalmpathy,tudents ust:

* access uthenticistoricalources,ngagingn riticalxamina-tion f hoseourcesnd nderstandinghe aturefhistoricalconclusions,"

* have balancef maginativepeculationndmethodicalnvesti-gation,18

* relive he houghtsfpastndividualshroughhe euristicf

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334 Kaya ilmaz

contextualization,19*"examine,ppreciate,ndunderstandheperspectivesfpeople n

thepast ndto renderhemntelligibleocontemporaryinds,"20* make easoned videntialeconstructionn additionotakingpositiono reconstructsetofbeliefs, alues, oals, ndattendantfeelingshat istoricalgents ad,21

* engagensustainedffortndthoughtfultrategyosuspendheirpresent orld iewswhen xamininghepast nordero avoidpresentistnderstandingfthepast, .e.,understandinghepastevents ntheir wn erms ithoutudging hemhroughur on-temporaryriteria.22

TheoryntoPractice:Practicaluggestionsor xercisingmpathy

In dditiono pproachinghe otionfhistoricalmpathyromtheo-reticalerspective,cholarslsohave ealt ith he ermt he mpiricallevel.Theyhaveprovided uggestionsbouthowthehistoryeacheranbenefitrom istoricalmpathyyemployingt s a teachingool n theclassroom. ccordingoPortal,t akes ive teps or tudentsobeableto

engagenempathynddevelop heirerspectiveakingkills. opracticehistoricalmpathy,tudentshould e able to:1) projectheirwn houghtsndfeelingsnto particularistorical

situation,2) distinguishhehistoricaleriod ndertudyrom heirwn,3) employ varietyfreference aterialsndcontemporaryources

related o the opic heyrestudying,4) presentparticularerson r situationna way hat xtends eyond

themerely ypicaloencompassheunique ircumstancesfthe ase,

5)makeuseofthe wo-sidedarrativeo llustratehe oleofinadequatelympathicelationshipetweenhehistoricalarticipantsingiving ise omisunderstanding,onflict,rtragedy.23

Concernedith ow otranslatehe onstructsfhistoricalmpathyintomeaningfullassroomractices,osterlsohasofferedaluable ug-gestions or eachers fhistory.e recommendedhat eachers:

* focus n puzzlingnd aradoxicalituationn he astwhile rac-ticingmpathyxercisesnordero nitiateuriositymongtudentsand o

helphem

istinguishhe emote

ast eriodromhe ecent

past,* providetudentsithome nowledgefhistoricalontextnd

chronologyeforeelvingeeplynto he electedopic f tudy,* introducewide angefprimarynd econdaryourceso tudents,

dependingn he ognitivenddevelopmentalevels f tudents,

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Historicalmpathynd tsmplications 335

* encouragetudentso sk riticaluestionsf ourcesohelp voidthe isk f akingny ourcestface alue,

* scaffoldnd uild p tudents'earningohelp hemevelop ispo-sitionso skmoreomplexnd hought-provokinguestions,* urgetudentso sk uestionsf hemselveshenxaminingis-

toricalocuments,* encouragetudentso dentifyourcesnd ive easons hyhe

sourcesheyelectedremost sefuln heddingightnpastevents,

* help tudentsewaryf he entativenessf heirinal onclusionsand nterpretationsith hich thers ightisagree,

*recognizehatngagingtudents

nmeaningfulmpathynquirytakesubstantiallassroomime,nergy,ffort,nd esources,

* and nderstandhathe electionfproper aterials,sking rob-ing uestions,timulatinghoughtfulnvestigation,eadinghe lassdiscussion,ndmaintaininghemomentumf nquiryre entralto he uccessfulmplementationfhistoricalmpathyxercisesnclassrooms.24

Likewise, istoryeachersre uggestedoevaluatetudents'ngage-ment ith istoricalmpathyhroughhe ollowingour riteria.tudentsmust: )indicate hat he ast s differentromhe resentnd historicaloutcomes specifico time ndplace,2) explain heperspectivesheytakeand their onsequencesor hehistoricalarticipantsnvolved, )develop actuallyccurateerspectivesnthe asisofhistoricalvidence,andfinally,) judgewhetherhe tudents demonstratinghe bilityodistinguishetween astperspectivesnd shiftkillfullyrom neper-spectiveo another.25

ConclusionBydiscussinghe ivergentnd onvergenterspectivesnthe erm

empathy,have riedodocumenthe cholarlyffortsodefine,on-ceptualize,nd larifyhemeaning,ature,nd haracteristiceaturesfthe otionfhistoricalmpathy.reviewf iteraturelearlyhowshatscholarsavenot et ome o erms ith ach therbout he efinitionof he erm.mpathytill tandssaproblematicnd mbiguouserm,oany ivenefinitionf mpathyssubjectodispute.26sDavis onfessed,

even hose esearchersho,ike im,ave ttemptedo onsidermpathyinhistoryducationonot nownoughbout t nd redoing urtherresearch.27hese ffortshould eappreciatedecausehey avebeencontributingo he iteraturenhistoryeachingnd earningy xpand-ing ur nderstandingfhow nd owhatxtenttudentsan ngagen

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336 KayaYilmaz

historicalhinkingndreasoning.n ightf his eviewf iterature,tis safe osay hathe irstndmostmportantask eforeocial tudies

educatorssnotust okeep efininghe reciseefinitionf he ermutalso ryingo ome o ermsithhe onceptualmplicationsf he erm.Clearerelineationf he omponentsfhistoricalmpathys needed.fa cumulativenowledgease bout istoricalmpathys tobebuilt,nagreed-uponefinitionf he erm ustmergeromiversetudies.ofacilitatehatrocess,ducationalesearchersan xamineistoriographyin rdero eehow ifferentchoolsfhistoricalhoughtefinend xplainthe erm.ince ducationalesearchers'eglectfhistoriographys oneof he easonsor he

hortcomingsf he esearchn

historyducation,woulduggesthatew tudieseconductedot nlynhistoricalmpathybut lso n he eachingndearningfhistoryydrawingufficientlynthemplicationsfhistoriographyorhe tudyf chool istory.

Notes

1. O. L. Davis, Jr.,In Pursuit fHistoricalmpathy,"nHistorical m-pathyndPerspectiveakingnthe ocialStudies,d.O. L. Davis,Elizabeth .Yeager,nd Stuart .FosterLanham,MD: RowmanndLittlefield,001),3.

2. Stuart . oster,HistoricalmpathynTheoryndPractice:omeFinalThoughts,"nHistoricalmpathyndPerspectiveakingnthe ocialStudies,ed.O. L. Davis,Elizabeth .Yeager,ndStuart . osterLanham,MD: RowmanandLittlefield,001),167.

3. Foster,Historicalmpathy;"enisShelmit,AdolescentdeasAboutEvidence ndMethodologynHistory,"nTheHistory fCurriculumorTeach-

ers,ed. ChristopherortalLondon:Palmer ress,1987),"andPeterKnight,"Empathy:oncept,onfusion,ndConsequencesn Nationalurriculum,"Oxfordeview fEducation 5 1989):44.

4. Foster, Historical mpathy;"nd RosalynAshbyand PeterLee,"Children'sonceptsfEmpathyndUnderstandingnHistory,"nTheHistoryCurriculumorTeachers,d.ChristopherortalLondon:Palmer ress, 987),62-88.

5. Keith . Barton,Did theEvil Just unOutof Justice?istoricalPerspectiveaking mong lementarytudents,"aper resentedt the nnualmeetingftheAmericanducational esearch ssociation, ewYork, 996.

6. PeterJ. Lee andRosalynAshby, Empathy,erspectiveaking,ndRational nderstanding,"n Historical mpathyndPerspectiveakingn theSocialStudies,d.O. L. Davis,Elizabeth .Yeager,ndStuart . osterLanham,MD: Rowman ndLittlefield,001),25.

7. Barton,.8. Matthew.Downey, PerspectiveakingndHistorical hinking:o-

ingHistoryn Fifth-Gradelassroom,"aper resentedt he nnualmeeting

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Historicalmpathynd tsmplications 337

of heAmericanducationalesearchssociation,anFrancisco,995.9. Peteree, 'Walkingackwardsnto omorrow:'istoricalonscious-

ness ndUnderstandingistory,"aper resentedt nnual eetingfAmericanEducationalesearchssociation,ewOrleans,002.10. Bruce .VanSledright,FrommphaticegardoSelf nderstanding:

Impositionality,mpathy,ndHistoricalontextualization,"nHistoricalm-pathynd erspectiveakingn he ocial tudies,d.O.L.Davis, lizabeth.Yeager,nd tuart. osterLanham,D: Rowmannd ittlefield,001), 5.

11. National enteror istoryn he chools,heNationaltandardsorHistory,http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/nchs/standards>accessed0April004).

12. Foster,75.13. Davis, .

14. Elizabeth .Yeager,ndStuart .Foster,TheRolesofEmpathynthe evelopmentfHistoricalnderstanding,"nternationalournalf ocialEducation3 1998):1-7.

15. Foster,69-175.16. Davis, .17. K. L.Riley,Historicalmpathynd heHolocaust:heorynto rac-

tice,"nternationalournalf ocial ducation3 1998): 2-42.18. Christopherortal,Empathys anObjectiveor istoryeaching,"n

TheHistoryfCurriculumorTeachers,d.ChristopherortalLondon:almerPress, 987), 3-133.

19. Mimi .Lee, Promotingistoricalnquirysing econdaryources:Exploringhe romisendPossibilitiesnNewGenresfHistorical riting,"paper resentedt the nnualmeetingfAmericanducationalesearchs-sociation,anDiego, 004.

20. Foster,75.21. Ashbynd ee,63.22. Lee andAshby,1-50; eager,nd oster,-7.23. Portal,3-133.24. Foster,75-178.25. Downey.26. Foster,69.

27. Davis, 0.

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