Using Visual Arts to Enrich History Understanding

Background

As one of the distinctive symposia of the 5th International Conference on Literature, Language, and Culture Development (ICLLCD 2026), The Using Visual Arts to Enrich History Understanding Symposium, hosted by Sam Houston State University, provides participants with a platform to talk about methods for teaching history through art. An essential and maybe surprising instrument for teaching history is art. However, paintings, drawings, and photographs can convey a wealth of information about historical occurrences. By looking at how artists recorded the past we can help them delve deeper into the circumstances that led to the events represented, analyzing the artist's viewpoint and decision-making, and evaluating them against other sources. Teaching history via art uses visual materials such as paintings, drawings, and sculptures to help students comprehend cultural viewpoints, assess historical events, and hone their critical thinking abilities. To make history interesting and relevant, teachers can choose a variety of artworks, help students analyze themes, symbols, and expressive language, and relate the artwork to its historical setting. Students' interest and comprehension would be further enhanced by interactive exercises including role-playing, field trips, and even making their own artwork. To assist students become better historical thinkers and foster more polite conversation, we must first provide them with the information and time to understand how an artist's approach might affect our interpretation of historical events. Students can then learn about history through making observations, posing queries, and discussing the links between art and history.

Goal/Rationale

Things have changed since teachers had to use their local and private libraries to make art-based history slideshows. With just a computer click and a projector, we can now show students thought-provoking artwork. However, training students to evaluate the visual fine arts as a way to learn about the past requires intentional strategies. In this workshop we talk about methods for teaching history through art. We give examples of how to select artworks that depict historical figures, events, or ideas while taking into account the students' prior knowledge of the subject. We offer a visual analysis approach that demonstrates to students how to recognize themes and messages in artworks while also guiding them in observing details such as colors, shapes, patterns, and textures. We outline specific elements in the artwork that might have been triggered by particular historical events or a certain era under study; we analyze potential biases in the artist and his/her audience; we determine the potential value of the artwork as a historical document. The workshop will also provide ideas of how to include interactive activities so that students can get more deeply involved with the historical subjects. Additionally, we provide ideas on how to promote role-playing exercises in which students could pretend to be historical personalities or artists.

Scope

To assist students become better historical thinkers and foster constructive conversation, we must first provide them the information that could help them understand how an artist's approaches affect our interpretation of historical events. Students learn about history through making observations, posing queries, and discussing the links between art and history. The first step in selecting art for students to study is determining how the piece will be used in the lesson. For instance, introducing students to a new historical subject through an artwork might be an engaging experience. Consider the level of students' knowledge with the work's subject matter when deciding which artwork to utilize. Think about whether the artwork conveys a response to a historical ruling and how it could be used to start a conversation about the reasons behind people's responses and reactions. A variety of media forms must also be investigated. For pupils who are less accustomed to formal art, a political cartoon, for instance, can be a helpful starting point. A sculpture or other three-dimensional piece provides variation. Work that is overly abstract should be avoided because it could be hard for students to relate them to historical events. We must also examine works created by artists from diverse origins. When choosing an artwork, we must take into account any additional materials that could assist make the piece come to life. Texts that discuss how the work should be interpreted might be a useful tool for learning scaffolding. Organizations like the National Gallery of Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art provide easily accessible online lesson plans, supplementary materials, and guided questions to facilitate the incorporation of art history into the classroom. Once students comprehend the particular methods employed in a work of art, it is necessary to explain how it could be connected to historical occurrences. As the students start their assignment, educators can provide tidbits of facts about the historical event. While some students can benefit from guided questions to help focus their observations, others will be able to steer the conversation in the direction the instructor desires. Starting with the fundamentals, one could ask students to evaluate what they learn about the time period or person from the artwork. After that, one can ask them to assess the artist's decisions in producing the image. What methods did he/she employ to express opposing viewpoints? What can be learned about the historical era from the methods employed? Does the artist's work have any omissions that provide insight into the era?

Publication

Accepted papers of the symposium will be published in Communications in Humanities Research (Print ISSN 2753-7064), and will be submitted to  Conference Proceedings Citation Index (CPCI), Crossref, CNKI, Portico, Google Scholar  and other databases for indexing. The situation may be affected by factors among databases like processing time, workflow, policy, etc.

Accepted manuscripts will be submitted to the publisher on a rolling basis. Early-registered papers are expected to be published and printed earlier.

This symposium is organized by ICLLCD 2026 and it will independently proceed the submission and publication process.