Abstract
Art can be of great benefit for students to learn about history. This article presents results of a three-year research project at the university level on the use of specific examples from the arts for a variety of courses in U.S. and European history as well as a course on history methods. All the examples used consisted of images (painting and photography), film, and music. The authors know that many students are visual and aural learners, and that the arts can prompt emotional engagement with a subject, which in turn can enhance learning. It is thus a basic premise of this article that visual and/or aural examples can often improve students' understanding about historical events or movements, in part because the arts can help provide meaning to what students are learning. Images and/or sounds can further serve as mnemonic devices to improve students' retention of facts. In trying to understand how the arts can be of benefit in teaching history, the authors sought to develop methods and tools that teachers can apply in the classroom to help students learn about historical events, movements, and ideas.