Using art history and art making to develop historical consciousness of the body in a high school History classroom
Pip Boettcher
TCAP HDR members reflect on the graphic recording of their projects
It was wonderful to have the opportunity to present my work to Sarah Firth, who created a graphic recording of my PhD research to date. Collaborating with Sarah in a relaxed conversational manner, where she was able to ask questions and I was able to expand on particular ideas while Sarah developed her illustrations, was an organic and enjoyable creative process.
By centring the theory of historical consciousness within her design, Sarah communicated the centrality of this concept to my research.
As a history teacher, I am interested in how adolescents are influenced by, grapple with, and respond to the historical constructions of the body (with all the assumptions around gender and gender relations connected with this) and how these histories might influence their identity. To examine this further, I want to explore whether historical consciousness related to the body could be developed in the history classroom by teaching a history of Venus Aphrodite. Sarah utilised a dotted trail to create a path that simultaneously showed the journey in my thinking as well as the historical journey through time I planned to take my students on. The dotted trail moved between representations of Venus from the Bronze Age, to the classical nude and later feminist and contemporary reimagining that have taken place which I would examine with students.
The final product offers an engaging way to communicate my research to others as it helps bring the thesis to life and where key idea come together. I have found the visual graphic extremely useful when talking about my research with friends and colleagues.
Pip Boettcher is a history teacher with a background in art history. She has taught Modern and Ancient History in both Catholic and Independent schools in New South Wales and Queensland, as well as museum settings. Pip is currently completing her PhD part-time through Deakin University exploring how art history and art making can develop an historical consciousness related to the body.