One of the great challenges in a college history class is engaging students with material that entertains while it teaches. One of the best ways of accomplishing this is to incorporate films into class. This guide covers some of the different genres of historically-based films in two different fields of study, Europe and the Middle East, and offers tips on how to integrate them into the teaching of history.

European History

Though Monty Python films are comedies, they were created by actors whose first training was as historians. The films are funny and, because they are period pieces, they will serve as a backbone for your lessons. "Monty Python and the Holy Grail," for example, has clips on the relationship between serfs and nobility, concepts of chivalry and the effects of the plague upon European society.

Few truly understand how widespread antisemitism was in Europe. The "Dreyfus Affair" shines a light on the oft-ignored phenomenon of Jewish discrimination and anti-Jew sentiments in France.

Show a portion of "Schindler's List." The stark black-and-white conveys the horrors of the Holocaust more clearly than a book could.

Screen "Gallipoli." One of the least-taught wars was the war to end all wars, World War I Few students know what the Ottoman Empire was, nor understand the scale of destruction that modern warfare wrought on early 20th-century society. "Gallipoli" puts glorious combat and swift victory on display for students to experience, then throws them into one of the most bloody and costly fronts in the war.

Select a clip from "The Adventures of Robin Hood." The setting provides lesson into what was happening in England during the Third Crusade and before the signing of the Magna Carta. Robin Hood also examines the role of legends and folklore in English society.

Choose a clip from "Battleship Potemkin." The Bolshevik revolution did not materialize out of thin air and the scenes enacted in the movie offer you an opportunity to discuss the failed rebellions of the Czarist period in Russian history.

Middle East History

Choose a clip from "Lawrence of Arabia." The scope of World War I's effect in the Middle East is on display in this Peter O'Toole classic. It also highlights the efforts of Arabs in the prosecution of the war effort against the Ottomans.

Choose a clip from "The Lion and The Wind." This Sean Connery vehicle highlights the problems Morocco faced during its struggle for independence from Europe (Spain) while fending off the newcomer, America.

Show "El Cid." A means to discuss the waning days of Muslim domination over the Iberian peninsula, "El Cid" can be heavy-handed. Though given from the Christian point of view, it speaks to the extent of Muslim conquest and territorial gains following the death of the Prophet.

Show clips from "True Lies." Terrorism is placed front and center in this action film, but the portrayal of the terrorists as slightly bumbling, if thoroughly evil, fools is an opportunity for juxtaposition to the sentiments of Americans in a post-9/11 world.

Show "Kingdom of Heaven." Though still Europe-centric, this treatment of the Second and Third Crusades gives Saladin a more sympathetic role in the film. Use this film as a starting point for discussions of the loaded words "crusade" and "jihad," as well as the importance of Saladin in the Middle East.

Return to Monty Python. "Life of Brian" has many instances where the rebellious nature of the Israelites is in full view. It examines what Roman domination meant for the territories and mocks the convoluted secret societies and cults that cropped up in the early years of the Common Era.