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Learning History in America Schools, Cultures, and Politics Lloyd Kramer, Donald Reid, and William L. Barney, editors |
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Hotly debated, attacked, and defended, multiculturalism has become a pervasive topic in contemporary American society, especially in the nation's schools. Despite its merits in bringing questions about ethnic diversity and national unity to the fore, this debate sorely lacks historical perspective, a shortcoming that Learning History in America seeks to correct. As it extends recent discussions about multiculturalism into the sphere of contemporary historical understanding, this book sets out explicitly to explore the practical and theoretical implications of these discussions for people who learn and teach history in the United States. Mary Beth Norton, Dominick LaCapra, Ariel Dorfman, and Frances FitzGerald are among the authors gathered here, all of whom share a concern over how Americans learn the history of both their own society and other cultures in the world. University and secondary-school teachers, political journalists and textbook authors, an analyst of historical films, and a novelist, these writers use their personal experiences to analyze problems of historical understanding in American classrooms, popular films, and political conflicts. Drawing on new forms of historical knowledge and stressing the historical processes that create this knowledge, their essays recommend new ways to teach history in the academic curriculum, suggest critical perspectives for viewing the historical "lessons" conveyed by films or politicians, and insist on the important role that history—and historians—should play in public culture. "The editors recognize the need to build bridges between historians at different levels of teaching and between historians and other professionals interested in teaching. Because the selections were originally spoken, most possess an intimacy more formal papers often lack." —Journal of American History "The essays address both practical problems and more controversial issues, and the writers represent some of the diverse sources from which Americans learn about history. This book is thought-provoking and valuable to both the student and the teacher of history. The essays provide suggestions and personal examples as to how a teacher might solve some the problems facing historians today. The consideration given to popular culture and political rhetoric works especially well to illustrate that most Americans learn their history outside the classroom and that historians must therefore make an attempts to use these spaces to better inform the public. One theme of the book is the need for a 'shared vocabulary': can the concerns of historians be accommodated and communicated without destroying the common values and definitions which make debate possible? In the debate over 'multiculturalism', however, one could argue that a shared vocabulary has already disappeared. This makes the question which the editors pose, '. . . can historians provide a new shared vocabulary and knowledge that can encompass the fruits of their new research?' a very timely one." —American Studies International Lloyd Kramer is an associate professor of history and Donald Reid is a professor of history, both at the University of North Carolina, where William L. Barney holds a Bowman-Gray Professorship for excellence in teaching. 232 pages | 6 x 9 | 1994 |
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$23.50 paper