Teaching History Through Fiction

Reading historical fiction deepens students’ understanding of history by adding context and perspective that textbooks often miss.

Geopolitics is complicated! Understanding the background of why certain events take place in our world is not always easy or straightforward. Such is the background of the current situation in Iran. I have just finished reading Marjan Kamali’s novel The Lion Women of Tehran with my Learning History through Fiction class. When I chose the book, I was not looking through a crystal ball predicting the current conflict, but the timing could not have been more apt given recent events.

As teachers we recognize our responsibility to help students develop the skills to expand their social bubble, to ask good questions, to understand others, to accept diverse viewpoints and to respect a life different from their own.

As teachers we recognize our responsibility to help students develop the skills to expand their social bubble, to ask good questions, to understand others, to accept diverse viewpoints and to respect a life different from their own. I think that we can all agree that history is a narrative, traditionally presented in standardized textbooks and primary sources. We should also agree that the ability to interrogate and explore history; comparing, contrasting, sourcing, contextualizing, is a vital skill. What we frequently forget or ignore is that historical narratives can also be shared and learned through fictionalized accounts. Literature provides insight into the experiences of those who live through events; it encourages us to see the world through the eyes of others.

Arnold Weinstein, a professor of literature at Brown University, wrote an op-ed piece in the New York Times, entitled, Don’t Turn Away From the Art of Life. He writes about the power and the value of art and literature in deciphering life in a way that math and science cannot. He writes,

“Art and literature are tried on. Reading a book, seeing a painting or a play or a film: Such encounters are fueled by affect as well as intelligence. Much “fleshing out” happens here: We invest the art with our own feelings, but the art comes to live inside us, adding to our own repertoire. Art obliges us to “first-personalize” the world. Our commerce with art makes us fellow travelers: to other cultures, other values, other selves.” Arnold Weinstein – NY times, Feb 25, 2016

High quality historical fiction is engaging, it provides details of daily life, typically focuses on individuals over events and presents us with the complexity of issues.

High quality historical fiction is engaging, it provides details of daily life, typically focuses on individuals over events and presents us with the complexity of issues. More than this though, narratives often provide multiple perspectives presented by the characters and explained by their interplay. Kamali’s novel covers Iran's dramatic shift from a relatively modernizing, secularizing nation under the Shah in the 1950's-1970's, through the 1979 Islamic Revolution, to increasing fundamentalism and oppression, particularly impacting women, as the story follows two lifelong friends, Ellie and Homa, whose lives diverge due to class and politics. The book explores themes of female friendship, autonomy, and resistance amidst profound societal upheaval, and of course provides insight to the historical events at the base of this change.

Literal truth, the verifiable kind, is almost always emphasized in non-fiction, while artistic truth and historical trueness, the non-verifiable kinds, are almost always emphasized in historical fiction. By teaching with sources that emphasize artistic truth or historical trueness, students can be introduced to the more personal, social and cultural side of history. They have the opportunity to empathize with those whose experiences they encounter.