UC Clermont professor teaches history through sci-fi lens in new book

Krome: When I first started using science fiction films and stories in my teaching, I expected to be met with a certain amount of skepticism from colleagues and students. In fact, many students enjoyed the chance to use science fiction as a primary source, and since I use the material in the same way as any other primary source, most of my colleagues reacted positively.

A colleague suggested that I write up a short piece on how to utilize science fiction in the classroom, and the article was published in the Association for Regional Campuses of Ohio journal in 2020. Since most historians are, deep down, frustrated preachers, I thought it would be a good time to expand the short piece into a longer, more systematic examination. Rowman & Littlefield had just announced their new series, “Teaching History Today and in the Future,” and the series editor thought my project was a good fit.

Krome: Science fiction, whether in print or visual formats, is a primary source like any other historical source. Any subject that is worth researching and writing about can also be used in the classroom. This book is predominantly directed at educators, at both the secondary and university levels.

One of the challenges for history instructors at all levels is how to engage and maintain student interest. Since our students (and their teachers) are consumers of popular culture, and since science fiction has been an integral part of popular culture since the early 19th century, I hope that after reading this book they develop ways of integrating this material for their classes. The final chapter of the book is a “how to” set of instructions on developing your own source material, so I expect instructors will quickly move beyond my examples.

Krome: My world history students read the original “War of the Worlds” (1898) story by H.G. Wells. They then had to consider how the story is an example of anti-imperialist literature and how the invaders from Mars were a metaphor for European invasions and destruction of indigenous populations in places like Tasmania.

In my Holocaust class, we have a module I call the “post-war life of the Holocaust” that focuses on how the Holocaust has entered U.S. popular culture in literature and film/TV. I give the students a five-point metric on the “Americanization of the Holocaust,” and we watch a 1961 episode of the Twilight Zone called “Death’s Head Revisited.” The students then discuss how many of the metrics can be found in the TV show.

Krome: I love the variety of subjects I use to try and engage students into thinking about history in new ways. Even if you teach the same class every year, you can vary the themes and assigned readings.

Recently in my World History I class, for instance, we focused on several themes: The patterns of civilization, the impact of changing climate on civilizations and a third theme that the students had to guess by the middle of the semester. The correct answer was “people suck.” The first student to figure it out got bonus points.

The next semester in World History II, we looked at how foodways changed from the 16th through the 18th century, with a focus on chocolate. By the end of the class, we discussed how food consumption makes us all global citizens, as even parts of breakfast can come from as far away as New Zealand. And of course, I use science fiction in a variety of settings. It’s all about reaching students in ways that draw them directly into the material.

Featured image at top: UC Clermont history Professor Frederic Krome. Photo/Danny Kidd

About UC Clermont