Text and Context

The majority of schools in the United States still §neglect the value of an interdisciplinary education. §Integrating subjects helps students make meaningful §connections, creating a more interconnected §undertanding of the world. This research project §includes the design and assessment of a unit that §facilitates students making of meaningful §connections between literature and history. This §project combined the literary theory of New §Historicism and the curricular model of the §International Baccalaureate Organisation to create §and analyze a unit for Art Spiegelman s Maus I and §Maus II that combines literary and nonliterary §texts. The key findings that emerged were that the §curriculum: 1) Presents multiple perspectives and §encourages multicultural awareness; 2) Promotes §holistic learning through the connections made §between literature and history; and 3) Supports the §development of speaking, listening, reading, §writing, viewing, and thinking skills. Educators §interested in developing an interdisciplinary §approach to teaching will benefit from this study §and curriculum, especially those in the fields of §literature and history.