READ AND WRITE IN HISTORY CLASSES

FROM THE WORDS PRISON TO THE OUTSIDE MAZE

Abstract

The aim of this article is to focus on two sets of issues related to the reading and writing practices in History classes. On the one hand, it presents data drawn from an inquiry concerning the different reading and writing practices commonly used in that context. On the other hand, it approaches practices that have not been systematized yet by analyzing the creative potential that exists outside the classroom, which can lead to new ways of reading and writing and encourage students to produce historical narratives with imagination. To do that, this article presents Michel Foucault’s thought of the outside as the theoretical basis for addressing our relationship with language through reading and writing.