'The concept that dares not speak its name': Can we rehabilitate 'empathy' as a disciplinary concept by re-theorising its curricular goals and value to pupils in light of the 'cultural turn' in history? A theory-seeking case study with Year 9 exploring the experience of a soldier in the First World War.
View / Open Files
Authors
Benger, Alexander
Publication Date
2020-01-04Journal Title
Journal of Trainee Teacher Educational Research
ISSN
2043-8338
Publisher
Faculty of Education
Volume
11
Pages
49-78
Type
Article
Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Benger, A. (2020). 'The concept that dares not speak its name': Can we rehabilitate 'empathy' as a disciplinary concept by re-theorising its curricular goals and value to pupils in light of the 'cultural turn' in history? A theory-seeking case study with Year 9 exploring the experience of a soldier in the First World War.. Journal of Trainee Teacher Educational Research, 11 49-78. https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.84143
Abstract
This paper explores a theory-seeking case study that aimed to investigate the potential for rehabilitating the troubled concept of empathy as a curricular construct by re-theorising it in close relation to the cultural turn in academic history. The case study centred on an eight-lesson enquiry in which Year 9 pupils engaged with an extended historical source in a manner inspired by cultural history, using the concept of 'historical perspective' – a re-theorisation of the concept of empathy developed throughout the enquiry. Findings suggest that empathy re-theorised as 'historical perspective' can provide a rigorous means of rehabilitating the aims of empathy and translating the complementary aims and approaches of cultural history into school history. Ultimately, the paper argues for the value of rehabilitating empathy in such a way and concludes with recommendations for further development of 'historical perspective' as a concept and for the wider inclusion of cultural history within school history.
Keywords
PGCE Secondary History, empathy, First World War, Education, Classroom
Identifiers
This record's DOI: https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.84143
This record's URL: https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/336720
Statistics
Total file downloads (since January 2020). For more information on metrics see the
IRUS guide.