As a graduate instructor of U.S. History Since 1877, my entire course is designed around the motif of the newspaper. I model my lecture presentations after the newspaper, both literally and figuratively, and use it as a theme for classroom readings, activities, and assignments. The newspaper is not a gimmick, but rather a stylistic pattern, instructional tool, topic for historical discussion, and prolific source for reading materials. I include aspects of the newspaper in my syllabus design, lecture titles, Power Point layout and images, lecture topics, classroom activities, and reading and writing assignments.
Every day I begin my class with a “headlines” title slide that resembles a newspaper cover “above the fold.” I display approximately ten article titles from the New York Times Historical that describe the class topics of the day. For most classes, the headlines are labeled as National news, but when the lecture subjects correspond, I also use different sections, including Regional, World, Metro, Business, Arts and Style, Opinion, Classifieds, and Special Features. These articles provide an excellent ice-breaker and introduction for the lecture, as well as giving the students a context for larger national events. Then we “flip” to the metaphorical second page to learn more about the lives of everyday Americans in the past. I carefully choose headlines that allude to larger political and military events in U.S. History, while I focus on the nuances of social and cultural history during my lectures. In addition to the headlines and lecture structure, I incorporate story titles, newspaper articles, magazine articles, cartoons, advertisements, letters to the editor, interviews, television reports and commercials (later in the class), and newspaper database searches, as well as special lessons on exposé journalism, photojournalism, and television journalism, into the classroom assignments and activities.
The newspaper motif is both pedagogically valuable and appealing to my audience. The format and presentation of the newspaper provides a tool to demonstrate the hierarchy of certain historical information and actors. The newspaper is also an accessible, less-intimidating means for students to explore history through primary sources. According to student feedback and evaluations, immersion in the newspaper format and content helped many students to better connect to the course material and recognize that “history is real.” In addition, my emphasis on social and cultural history served to transform student perceptions of what a history course can be and increased their interest in the topic. I think one of the best judges of an instructor is how they teach the most basic information to the most general audience. My syllabus approach confirms that ambitious instructors can develop creative new formats, techniques, and activities to improve the history survey course.
A poster presentation is the ideal format to display my instructional materials and encapsulate my course motif. The syllabus approach is very visual and best discussed through one-on-one conversation. The extended visibility of information during a poster exhibit provides the best means for the most number of instructors to examine my work. Thank you for your consideration.