Overview
This lecture introduces the Conquest of Mexico project, emphasizing inquiry-based learning and historical thinking skills, including analysis of primary sources, context, and interpretation.
Project Purpose and Approach
- The project aims to develop critical thinking skills by engaging students in how historians pose and answer questions.
- Students learn that historical narratives are interpretations, not absolute facts.
- Comparing different textbook accounts highlights factual disagreements and omissions.
- Students are encouraged to revise their conclusions after analyzing primary sources.
- Collaborative work is encouraged with students adopting roles of key historical figures for debates and group analysis.
Inquiry-Based Historical Study
- The project is question-driven, using sources that are open to multiple interpretations.
- Group projects may involve adopting perspectives of various participants (Spanish, Mexicas, Tlaxcalans, etc.).
- Students debate and negotiate perspectives, culminating in a paper from their group's viewpoint.
Historical Thinking Skills
Chronological Thinking
- Students should distinguish and organize past, present, and future events.
- Periodization is culturally constructed; European and Nahua perspectives on time differ.
- Chronology and dating systems (B.C., A.D., B.C.E., C.E.) reflect cultural viewpoints.
- Analyzing how eras are divided deepens understanding of historical change.
Historical Comprehension
- Understanding context, motivations, and consequences is essential for historical comprehension.
- Students should identify key actors, events, causes, and outcomes for events like the Age of Exploration or the Conquest.
- Recognizing perspective and motive in sources (e.g., Cortés, DÃaz del Castillo, Nahuatl accounts) is crucial.
- Comprehension includes interpreting different types of data: maps, literature, art, and music.
Historical Analysis and Interpretation
- History is not simply facts; interpretations and debates are central.
- Comparing sources shows that multiple perspectives exist, especially among winners and losers.
- Students learn to assess credibility, compare viewpoints, and understand cause-and-effect relationships.
- All historical interpretations are tentative and open to revision.
Historical Research Skills
- Students should formulate questions, gather and evaluate evidence, and present findings.
- Textbooks are secondary sources; primary sources offer firsthand perspectives.
- Evaluating who created a source, when, why, and how is key to understanding its value.
Historical Issues: Analysis and Decision-Making
- Understanding history helps analyze modern identity and political debate.
- Students should evaluate decisions by considering interests, ethics, power, and consequences.
- Analyzing what led to historical events and alternative possibilities improves decision-making skills.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Primary Source — An original document or account created at the time of an event.
- Secondary Source — An interpretation or analysis based on primary sources, created after the event.
- Chronological Thinking — The skill of organizing and understanding events in temporal order.
- Periodization — The division of history into named blocks or eras that reflect cultural perspectives.
- Historical Interpretation — The act of explaining the significance or causes of historical events, often involving debate.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Compare textbook accounts of the Conquest of Mexico, noting agreements and disagreements.
- Analyze primary sources and reconsider earlier conclusions.
- Prepare to discuss how primary sources challenge or confirm textbook narratives.
- Complete collaborative group assignments and write a group perspective paper.
- Read assigned textbook sections, focusing on organization of historical eras.