Overview of the Cultural Approach to History

Make history your students’ favorite class.

The Cultural Approach – by Caroline Ware (PDF)

The Cultural Approach transforms history from boring, rote memorization into an active and exciting exploration.  It does this by applying anthropological methods to the study of history.  While this may sound complex, it could not be simpler. Students study history by analyzing the six dimensions of culture (Politics, Religion, Aesthetics, Intellectual Developments, Economics, and Social Relations) in a given place and time. They ask questions like “What were the political options of the time?” and “How might religion have impacted their social relationships?” to analyze both WHY and HOW a historical event happened, rather than just memorizing names and dates.

This website is designed as a one-stop-shop for the Cultural Approach.  To help you use the Cultural Approach in the classroom, we’ve included pre-made PowerPoint presentations, podcasts, video-casts, and other great resources.