Do emotions have a place in the classroom? As teachers, we want our students to engage with the material in front of them. Often, we do this by appealing to their heads, asking them to think their way through an issue and understand. But what if we want our students to go beyond understanding and make meaningful connections with the subject material? As a historian, bringing the past back to life is my ultimate goal. Using emotions can be an effective way to bridge the gap between the past and the present.
I teach courses in modern American history at Northwestern University in Qatar. Our students usually have no connection with this subject matter and walk into the classroom already distanced from the material. I have found emotional teaching strategies effective for breaking down this barrier and getting students invested in the material. I will share three strategies that have worked well in using emotions as the foundations for stronger interpretations of the past: discussing with emotion; researching with emotion; and writing with emotion.
