Creative Historical Thinking

Michael J. Douma is Assistant Research Professor at the McDonagh School of Business at Georgetown University.

"If you are in the business of teaching students how to be effective history teachers, communicators, and practitioners, Michael Douma's new book deserves a place on your syllabus. Creative Historical Thinking is a wonderful contribution to the growing literature on the place of historical thinking in public life." -John Fea, Professor of History, Messiah College, author of Why Study History: Reflecting on the Importance of the Past"An imaginative alternative to linear history. The personal touch of relating dry, chronological events to a reader’s own personal timeline is sure to change how we view both past and present, and weigh their relevance to our lives." - Richard E. Cytowic, Professor of Neurology, George Washington University, author of Wednesday is Indigo Blue"Douma provides fresh ideas about the process of doing and teaching history. The emphasis on "creative historical thinking" provides a much needed humanistic emphasis within the literature of doing history. Douma provides ample examples and practical insights into the process of doing and teaching history using creativity within the bounds of the discipline." - David Zwart, Assistant Professor of History Education, Grand Valley State University

• Preface Introduction Section I: The Argument: Seeing History as a Creative Discipline Chapter 1: Metaphors of space and time Chapter 2: Beyond Simple Linear History Chapter 3: On Facts and Creative Interpretations Section II: Practical Strategies for Students to become Creative HistoriansChapter 4: How Creative Historians Read and Research Chapter 5: How Creative Historians Write Chapter 6: Networking: The Entrepreneurial Historian Section III: Creativity in the History Classroom Chapter 7: Rethinking history education with photographs and material culture Chapter 8: "Why Men Stopped Wearing Hats" and Other Important Historical Questions Chapter 9: Classroom History Diagrams Section IV: The Consequences of History as MetaphorChapter 10: Can there be one metaphor for all of History? Chapter 11: Analogies of Historical Thinking Chapter 12: Creative Historical Thinking for Everyone