History Wars and the Classroom

ABOUT THE BOOK The book is entitled History Wars and the Classroom: Global Perspectives and examines how ten separate countries have experienced debates and disputes over the contested nature of the subject, for example the âBlack Armbandâ and âWhitewashâ factions in Australia who adopt opposingly celebratory or denigratory views of Australian history, especially when evaluating episodes of poor racial relations. There are also tensions between traditional/patriotic views of history teaching and reformed or ânewâ history. There are issues of political control of the curriculum and parallel issues of who writes it (very topical in England at the moment over two expat âbig pictureâ historians who work at Harvard and Columbia (Niall Ferguson and Simon Schama)). ENDORSEMENTS: âAn important collection for anyone seeking to understand the incendiary nature of the history curriculum across the globe.â Sam Wineburg, Margaret Jacks Professor of Education and History, Stanford University, USA. âA powerfully and impressively wide-ranging collection of essays, which vividly remind us that the debates on the teaching of history are global rather than merely nationalâ. Sir David Cannadine, Dodge Professor of History, Princeton University, USA. CONTENTS: Acknowledgements. Introduction, Tony Taylor and Robert Guyver. Preface Peter Seixas. Legacies, Ruptures and Inertias: History in the Argentine School System, Maria Paula Gonzalez. Under Siege from Right and Left: A Tale of the Australian School History Wars, Tony Taylor. âWe Were Allowed to Disagree, Because We Couldnât Agree on Anythingâ: Seventeen Voices in Canadian Debates over History Education, Ruth Sandwell. Controversiality and Consciousness: Contemporary History Education in Germany, Sylvia Semmet. Denial in the Classroom: Political Origins of the Japanese Textbook Controversy, Tony Taylor. âLittle Is Taught or Learned in Schoolsâ: Debates over the Place of History in the New Zealand School Curriculum. Mark Sheehan. Transforming Images of Nation-Building: Ideology and Nationalism in History School Textbooks in Putinâs Russia, 2001â"2010, Joseph Zajda. Dealing with a Reign of Virtue: The Post-Apartheid South African School History Curriculum, Rob Sieb¶rger. The History Working Group and Beyond: A Case Study in the UKâs History Quarrels, Robert Guyver. Wars and Rumors of War: The Rhetoric and Reality of History Education in the United States, Keith Barton. About the Contributors...