How can a multidisciplinary approach to history be used in studying European History?

I think
that one example of a multidisciplinary
approach to teaching Europeanwould involve integrating
literature as a part
of instruction.

Embracing literature and history is a

natural, effective, and interdisciplinary approach to make content come alive.  When we
use
literature as an embedded part of the instructional process, greater
understanding of history
emerges.  For example, teaching about European
History during World War I gains greater
significance when pulling from the
literature of the time period.  The historical conditions of
the battlefield
and trench warfare are so viscerally understood when reading works such as

Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front.  In this instance,
literature
allows the pain and alienation of World War I to resonate in the
student's mind. Another example
of how literature can better enhance the
understanding of European History can be seen in
teaching Machiavelli's
The Prince. Machiavelli's work illuminates the

intellectual currents of the Renaissance that played such a large part in the formation
of
European identity.  It can also bring out how leaders approached the task
of governance.
 Students gain more insight about European history when they
read the literature that influenced
it. Teaching literature alongside history
allows them to better understand what it was like to
live and experience a
particular time period.