The role of schools, museums, films, novels, websites, textbook and other forms of media in the construction of historical consciousness
Much of a person’s history education takes place within the school. It is therefore important to develop a student’s understanding of his or her historical identity. In developing this identity, we as teachers impart knowledge of the past onto our students. This can be problematic as we pass on information that is outlined by the State governments in Australia. As Alan S. Marcus (2006) outlines educators need to “encourage a critical reflection of museums and memorials as interpreters of history and recognise the political, social and economic factors that influence them” (p. 106). This is similar with all forms of historical information. Within the New South Wales 7-10 History syllabus, there is an emphasis on national history. Students need to be made aware of this national history push, and it’s social and political implications. Peter Sexias (2006) notes that “who controls the past controls the future,” (p. 12) implying that representations of history may not always be accurate from one perspective and need to be examined from a variety of interpretations. By examining different groups within society, we are able to get perhaps not a whole overview of the groups, but a more tolerant view of the society at the time. This exhibition seeks to do that, providing artefacts as symbols of historical representation to be examined (Sexias 2006).
This exhibition and its link to learning:
This exhibition displays six artefacts sourced from various national websites on women’s participation and roles during the Second World War. The topic is taken from Stage 5 of the New South Wales History syllabus, Australia and World War II (2003). The specific learn to and learn about outcomes it addresses are:
· The changing roles of Australian women in WWII (learn about)
· Describe the changing roles of Australian women in WWII (learn to)
Overall, it addresses the following course outcomes
· 5.3: Explains the changing rights and freedoms of Aboriginal peoples and other groups in Australia
· 5.5: Identifies, comprehends and evaluates historical sources
· 5.7: Explains different contexts, perspectives and interpretations of the past.
The exhibition is organised to display the changing attitudes towards women from the start of the war, to the end. The beginning of the exhibition displays some of the propaganda posters designed to encourage women’s enrolment in the forces, and goes on to look at the contribution made by women and the development of the roles they carried out within the war period. It finishes with a cartoon illustrating the change of attitude throughout this time, with women wanting to go into various fields of the work force after the war. The online exhibition could be used within the broader scope of the Australia and WWII unit towards the end as a rounding up exercise. Students would require some background knowledge into the context of Australian society at the time to effectively analyse the role of women within that specific time period. They would also need background knowledge in terms of male roles, and the circumstances of the Second World War to see how these previous ideals had impacted females at the time. This exercise could also be carried out over a number of lessons, with students returning to the activity as they learn more information and can engage with the material more in depth. Supplementary material such as textbooks may also help the students complete the activities as they have a reference point for information. Most of the artefacts, however, have links to external sites that do list
More information on Horkheimer and Adorno’s theory of Culture Industries could also be helpful if such an element were to be embedded in the unit. The theory is useful for the students in terms of analysing sources and evaluating bias.
