How do students define war? How do adolescents understand the complexities of war? This session, presented at the Missouri Council for the Social Studies, seeks to answer those questions, as well as pose possibilities for teachers to incorporate a broader view of war into their curriculums without relying solely on military history.

1. WHEN WORDS FAIL
Teaching War on a Human Scale
Matt Shomaker

2. War, like energy, isn’t
created or destroyed,
just transferred.

3. WHY MILITARY
HISTORY ISN’T
ALWAYS THE
BEST CHOICE.

4. Military History is
limited in scope.
Troop movements, artillery
placements, and casualty
numbers offer a very specialized,
limiting approach to the event.
It also has limited appeal to
students and dehumanizes the
act of war.

5. Military history neglects
the experiences of
historical “others”.
A focus on “traditional” soldiers
throughout American and
European history excludes
myriad groups, including:
Women
Pacifists
LGBTQ
African-Americans
Conscientious Objectors

6. Military history is
not synonymous
with “war”.
Military history can have the
effect of sanitizing conflict by
removing the human element
and obstructing the impact of
the event.

7. POSSIBLE THEMES
FOR THE STUDY
OF WAR INYOUR
CLASSROOM.

8. 1. CHANGES IN ART, MUSIC,AND LIT.

9. 2. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

10. 3. PSYCHOLOGY ANDTHE BODY

11. 4. RESHAPING SOCIAL BEHAVIOR

12. WHAT CANYOU
DO WITH THESE
THEMES INYOUR
CLASSROOM?

13. American Revolution

14. THEME 1
Changes in art,
music, & literature

15. The Death of GeneralWarren at the Battle of Bunker's Hill, June 17,1775 -John Trumbull, 1786

16. Surrender of General Burgoyne -John Trumbull, 1821

17. Surrender of Lord Cornwallis -John Trumbull, 1817-1820

18. Declaration of Independence -John Trumbull, 1819

19. Washington Crossing the Delaware - Emanuel Leutze, 1851

20. Shimomura Crossing the Delaware - Roger Shimomura, 2010

21. Benjamin Franklin -Augustin de Saint Aubin
“Figure me in your mind as jolly as
formerly, and as strong and hearty,
only a few years older; being very
plainly dress’d wearing my thin gray
strait hair, that peeps out from
under my only coiffure, a fine Fur
Cap, which comes down to my
Forehead almost to my spectacles.
Think how this must appear among
the powder’d heads of Paris!”
-Benjamin Franklin to Emma Thompson

22. Eagle (1800-1830) -The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Liberty (1800) -The Metropolitan Museum of Art

23. Carlyle House,Alexandra,Virginia United States Capitol Building,Washington, D.C.

24. American Civil War

25. THEME 2
The environmental
impact of war
“All wars are environmental
catastrophes.Armies destroy farms
and livestock; they go through
forests like termites; they foul
waters; they spread disease; they
bombard the countryside with
heavy armaments and leave
unexploded shells; they deploy
chemical poisons that linger far
longer than they do; they leave
detritus and garbage behind.”
-Disunion! The Civil War’s Environmental Impact

26. General Order No. 11 - George Caleb Bingham, 1865-1868

27. “Sherman's march to the sea” -F.O.C. Darley

28. "Havoc," effects of a 32-pound shell from gun of Second Massachusetts Heavy Artillery. Confederate caisson and eight horses destroyed.
Fredericksburg, May 3, 1863 -Capt.Andrew J. Russell. Mathew Brady Collection

29. World War I

30. THEME 3
Psychology, the
body, and war

31. Gassed -John Singer Sargent, 1918

33. “Hickory dickory dock my daddy’s nuts from shell shock. Humpty
dumpty thought he was wise till gas came along and burned out
his eyes. A dillar a dollar a ten o clock scholar blow off his legs
and then watch him holler. Rockaby baby in the tree top don’t
stop a bomb or you’ll probably flop. Now I lay me down to sleep
my bombproof cellars good and deep but if I’m killed before I
wake remember god its for your sake amen.”
-Dalton Trumbo, “Johnny Got His Gun”

34. World War II

35. THEME 4
Reshaping social
behavior

36. Flickr User: Edward HeadingtonLibrary of Congress

37. Government Printing Office, 1943US National Library of Medicine

38. Flickr User: Mr.TinDC

39. TEN WAYS TO
IMMEDIATELY
CHANGEYOUR
APPROACH.

40. 1
UTILIZE OBJECTS
Use the design of a trench
coat, for example, to get
students thinking about how
its design reflected the living
conditions of soldiers during
World War I.
A similar approach could be
taken with khakis, cargo pants,
or the desert boot.

41. 2
STUDY GEOGRAPHY
AND DEMOGRAPHICS
Before looking at the battle,
study the landscape, nearby
cities and farms, and have
students brainstorm how
these features might be
impacted.
How would a major battle
affect the structures, the
population, law, order, etc.?

42. 3
SHARETHE HUMAN
EXPERIENCE OF WAR
Tell the story of the battle
entirely through journals,
diaries, and letters of soldiers
and civilians.
Not detailed enough? Have
students consult period
newspapers. No textbooks,
no lecture, all inquiry.

43. 4
TAKE A STEM APPROACH
Step away from politics,
generals, and troop maneuvers
and explore ways to integrate
science, technology, engineering,
and math.
World War I would be an
excellent unit with which to
experiment.

44. 5
FOLLOW ONE SOLDIER
While still teaching military
history, incorporate the
experience of one soldier.
Utilize primary sources left
behind: photographs, letters,
diaries, video, voice recordings,
etc.
Check our state historical
society or local veterans.

45. 6
INVOLVE AVETERAN
Reach out to your localVFW
and wider community to
connect with local veterans
willing to share their
experiences with students.
Have students record their
stories and share with the
Veterans History Project in
DC.

46. 7
FACT-CHECK COVERAGE
Compare media coverage of a
war, campaign, theater, or
particular battle with primary
source accounts from the
same.
Have students look for
strengths and weaknesses of
both sets of sources, including:
bias, POV, and corroboration.

47. 8
EXPLORE HISTORICAL
MEMORY
How are battles and wars
remembered at different
times and in different
locations? Have students look
for connections between how
and when an event is
commemorated
Reconstruction-era
Confederate statues would be
a great introduction.

48. 9
TEACHTHROUGH FILM
Decipher meaning through
popular film and compare
with the historical record.
Use accompanying primary
and secondary sources to
explore the manipulation of
public perception.

49. 10
VISITTHE FALLEN
Live near a national cemetery
or one with a significant
number of soldier’s graves?
Consider beginning a unit on
war with a solemn visit as a
reminder of the human cost
of war.
Powerful images could be
used carefully as well.

50. Questions?

51. THANKYOU
A copy of this presentation along with additional
material is available online at: https://goo.gl/me3c6p
I’m on Twitter @M_Shomaker or available through
emai: mshomakerteach@gmail.com

52. WHEN WORDS FAIL
Teaching War on a Human Scale
Matt Shomaker