Thinking Small: The Volkswagen Beetle in History and Educational Pedagogy

Abstract

This thesis has three parts, a historiography and original research into the Volkswagen Beetle’s place in history, and the reason for its success, and ending with publishable teaching materials modeled after those style guides and suggestions made by the Organization of American Historians (OAH) that encompass best practices for teaching social studies content. The overall implications of my research led me to create lessons that focus on two aspects of Volkswagen's history that have program parallels to the New York State Core Curriculum. Each lesson can be used in historical curriculums to teach societal needs and wants, political leadership, and economic motivations of a given people within a nation.