ABSTRACT

Creative Historical Thinking offers innovative approaches to thinking and writing about history. Author Michael J. Douma makes the case that history should be recognized as a subject intimately related to individual experience and positions its practice as an inherently creative endeavor. Douma describes the nature of creativity in historical thought, illustrates his points with case studies and examples. He asserts history’s position as a collective and community-building exercise and argues for the importance of metaphor and other creative tools in communicating about history with people who may view the past in fundamentally different ways. A practical guide and an inspiring affirmation of the personal and communal value of history, Creative Historical Thinking has much to offer to both current and aspiring historians.  

chapter |8 pages

Introduction

section I|39 pages

The Argument

chapter 1|13 pages

Metaphors of Space and Time

chapter 2|14 pages

Beyond Simple Linear History

chapter 3|10 pages

On Facts and Creative Interpretations

section II|38 pages

Practical Strategies for Students to Become Creative Historians

chapter 4|6 pages

How Creative Historians Read and Research

chapter 5|13 pages

How Creative Historians Write

chapter 6|9 pages

Networking

The Entrepreneurial Historian

chapter 7|8 pages

My Backyard History Chapter

section III|25 pages

Creativity in the History Classroom

section IV|37 pages

The Consequences of Creative History

chapter 13|8 pages

Analogies of Historical Thinking

chapter 14|5 pages

Creative Historical Thinking for Everyone