Using memoirs in teaching Regional History at school

The problems of teaching regional history at school are actively discussed by the pedagogical and scientific community. The article focuses on the possibilities of using memoir texts of residents of the Tomsk region in teaching regional history. The general characteristics of the situation concerning the educational and methodological support of teaching regional history are presented. It is emphasized that a full study of regional history is impossible without referring to the level of the oblast, acting as a link with local history. Considering that there are currently no educational and methodological materials on the history of the Tomsk region, emphasis is placed on historical sources that can be included in the anthology or collection of documents that are an obligatory part of the educational and methodological complex. The collection “I am telling you, my dear ones, a true story” is being considered, in which the memoirs of residents of the Tomsk region are published. The characteristic of the narratives contained in it is given. The advantages of involving the collection into the educational process at school are revealed. The appeal to the collection will help the teacher to demonstrate one of the leading features of modern historical science – interest in the “little man”, which arose in connection with the development of microhistoric approaches in historical research, to show the potential and uniqueness of family archives. It will allow schoolchildren to more seriously comprehend the diversity of the historical and cultural heritage of the Tomsk region. The informative value of the memoirs presented in the collection will be useful in the study of the following sections on the history of Russia: “The Russian Empire in the XIX – early XX centuries” (themes “The Ethno-cultural image of the Empire”, “National-religious features”), “Soviet society in the 1920s-30s” (themes “The USSR in 1929–1941: “Stalinist Socialism”, “Cultural space”), “The Great Patriotic War. 1941–1945”, “The apogee and crisis of the Soviet system. 1945–1991” (theme “Late Stalinism” (1945–1953)).

Regional History, educational and methodical complex, anthology, memoirs, Tomsk region