Rethinking contextualization in history education

Abstract This article rethinks contextualization in history education by arguing that it should be viewed not as a domain-specific heuristic but as an ordinary act of human understanding. Drawing on linguistic, ideational, and cultural traditions of contextualism—from Wittgenstein’s ‘meaning as use’ and Austin’s illocutionary acts to Bevir’s webs of belief and Geertz’s ‘thick description’—it demonstrates that contextualization underlies everyday reasoning. Challenging Wineburg’s view of contextualization as an ‘unnatural act’, the article contends that history education should refine rather than replace students’ intuitive contextual reasoning. It further proposes that instruction preceding contextualization should focus on helping students conceptualize the nature of historical context and examine the contingent relationship between past and present. This approach seeks to connect disciplinary historical enquiry with the interpretive capacities that guide ordinary human understanding.