Originally published on August 9, 2018 (Episode 76)
Introduction
What does it mean to think historically—and how can we teach it? In this conversation, Peter Burkholder, professor of history at Fairleigh Dickinson University, explains why the Middle Ages provide such fertile ground for cultivating the habits of historical thinking.
Drawing on Seneca’s phrase Quae Difficilia Sunt—“because these things are difficult”—Burkholder argues that encountering challenging medieval sources forces students to practice the historian’s craft: sourcing, cross-checking, contextualizing, and imagining the setting. From the Song of Roland to El Cid, he shows how even confusion can be productive, leading to humility as the final intellectual move of historical thinking.
About the Guest
Peter Burkholder is Professor of History at Fairleigh Dickinson University. A medievalist by training, he has become an award-winning scholar of teaching and learning, writing extensively on pedagogy, assessment, and the practice of historical thinking in the classroom.
For Further Investigation
Peter Burkholder, “Quia difficilia sunt: The Pedagogical Benefits of a Challenging Middle Ages”, Studies in Medieval & Renaissance Teaching, vol. 28, no. 1 (2021)
Sam Wineburg, Historical Thinking and Other Unnatural Acts (Temple, 2001)
Anders Ericsson and Robert Pool, Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise (HarperCollins, 2017)
Ken Bain, What the Best College Teachers Do (Harvard, 2004)
Listen & Discuss
What does Peter Burkholder mean when he says that “difficulty is a virtue” in learning history?
How does encountering medieval texts like the Song of Roland or El Cid help students develop historical habits of mind?
Why is humility an essential part of historical thinking?
What examples from your own learning have shown that confusion can lead to deeper understanding?
If you enjoyed this episode, share it with a colleague, a teacher, or a student who’s curious about how history is best learned.
