Tintin in the Classroom Engaging Students in the Study of the Past Through Comics Lucie Frances Abraham 17652793 Master of Research 2017 Western Sydney University Acknowledgements I would never have been able to complete this thesis without the support and guidance I have received from so many people over the last eighteen months. I would first like to thank my thesis supervisors Associate Professor Judith Snodgrass, Doctor Alison Moore and Doctor Di Dickenson from the School of Humanities and Communication Arts at Western Sydney University. I am gratefully indebted to their support and valuable comments that help shaped this thesis. Their kind words and encouragement is the reason this thesis was completed. It was thesis knowledge and enthusiasm for teaching and history was the inspiration for this research. To my fellow MRes researchers, I would like to extend my deepest thanks, for sharing their enthusiasm for learning. To Alix and Beth (my Awesome Clams) I am especially thankful that this thesis brought us together, I honestly could not have completed it without your endless support, and to Toshi who always brings a smile into a room. I would also like to acknowledge my colleagues Lauren, Avril and Kim for picking me up and pushing me forward to complete the research for this thesis, and always placing my education first. Finally, I must express my very profound gratitude to my family and friends Nicole and Chris, for providing me the unfailing support and continuous encouragement throughout my years of study and through the process of writing this thesis. This accomplishment would not have been possible without them. Thank you *Cover image: Tintin and Snowy (tintin.com) ii Statement of Authentication The work presented in this thesis, to the best of my knowledge and belief, is original except as acknowledged in the text. I hereby declare that I have not submitted this material, in either full or in part, for a degree at this or any other institution. Lucie Frances Abraham iii Table of Contents Table of Figures ................................................................................................................. 1 Abstract ................................................................................................................................ 2 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 3 Developing a Thesis ........................................................................................................... 7 Chapter One .................................................................................................................... 10 Comic Books as History .............................................................................................. 10 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 10 The Comic Book: A History ............................................................................................. 11 Comic Books as History .................................................................................................. 14 A Case for Comic Books as History: Maus a Survivors Tale ......................................... 17 The Shift of Comics as History into Education ............................................................. 21 The Value of Cross Media Representation for History ................................................. 23 Chapter Two .................................................................................................................... 26 The Changing Face of Australian Education ....................................................... 26 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 26 The 21st Century Learner ................................................................................................. 28 21st Century Learning ....................................................................................................... 30 The Changing Face of the Classroom ............................................................................ 35 Chapter Three ................................................................................................................. 38 21st Century Learners and the Skills of a Historian .......................................... 38 Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 38 A Conjuncture in the Classroom .................................................................................... 39 A Space for Teaching History with Comics ................................................................... 45 Comics and Self-Directed Learning ............................................................................... 52 Engaging Learners Through Comic Books .................................................................... 54 Chapter Four ................................................................................................................... 64 Teaching with Comics .................................................................................................. 64 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 64 Classroom Workshop One .............................................................................................. 65 Progressive Ideas and Movements –Tintin in America ...................................................... 65 Workshop Context ............................................................................................................................... 67 Teaching Aims ....................................................................................................................................... 68 Pre-Reading Activities ........................................................................................................................ 69 Section One: Reading Comics ........................................................................................................ 70 Section Two: Reading Tintin in America ................................................................................... 71 Section Three: Assessment of Learning ..................................................................................... 71 Workshop Two ................................................................................................................ 72 Changing Perceptions of the Past ................................................................................................. 72 Workshop Context ............................................................................................................................... 74 Teaching Aims ....................................................................................................................................... 75 Pre Reading Activities ......................................................................................................................... 75 Section One: Changing Historical Perspectives ..................................................................... 76 Workshop Three ............................................................................................................. 80 iv East Meets West – The Adventures of Tintin: The Blue Lotus .......................................... 80 Workshop Context ............................................................................................................................... 83 Teaching Aims ....................................................................................................................................... 83 Pre-Reading Activities ........................................................................................................................ 84 Section One: The Comic Space: Putting it All Together .................................................... 85 Section Two: A Western Fascination with the East. ............................................................ 85 Workshop Four ............................................................................................................... 86 Constructing a Historical Inquiry: The Blue Lotus ................................................................ 86 Workshop Context ............................................................................................................................... 87 Pre-Reading Activities ........................................................................................................................ 88 Section One: A Historian’s ‘Tool Kit’ ........................................................................................... 89 Section Two: Perspectives of History .......................................................................................... 90 Section Three: Building a Historical Inquiry ........................................................................... 90 Conclusion ....................................................................................................................... 91 Bibliography .................................................................................................................... 94 Appendices ....................................................................................................................