Engaging the Everyday

As historians we recognize that history surrounds us in numerous ways every day, yet our students often can't make the connection between what is studied in a textbook or class and the present day. This presentation will argue that to make the survey course engaging we must make it explicitly clear to students how the historical material being studied is reflected in their daily lives. This can include: connecting the creation of the Constitution to current legal debates while making the connection via an NPR podcast; playing “The Star-Spangled Banner”, discussing its history as our national anthem, and then opening a larger discussion about current debates regarding kneeling during the national anthem; or even analyzing clips from the 2012 movie Les Misérables as a way to actively engage in the material about the political changes in France in the 1800s. Making these connections can help students bridge the gap between their understanding of history as something distant from the past to something that has an impact on their daily lives.