History Lessons: How Textbooks from around the World Portray U.S. History

Synopsis

From the book: Instead of avoiding these difficult issues, [students' abilities to discuss and debate historical events] this work embraces them, with the intention of bringing back to the study of history those very things that make it so interesting and important. Instead of just reading about specific events, our readers have the opportunity to develop their own historical perspective and discover how individual biases, perspectives, and interpretations from around the world have shaped our understanding of specific historical events. Library Journal Textbooks are political documents, commissioned methods for molding students' viewpoints as well as instruments for conveying essential facts. By compiling excerpts of secondary-school manuals from largely Anglophone although not exclusively European sources, Ward (history, Vincennes Univ.) and Lindaman (a doctoral candidate at Harvard) provide a valuable service for those largely familiar with U.S. texts only. The use of post-Soviet Russian sources as well as Cuban and North Korean works is especially revealing. After an introduction delineating national differences among foreign publishers and the caveat that "most languages have passive constructions that allow them to speak of something without assigning blame," the authors submit selected historical passages ranging chronologically from the European discovery of the "New World" to the post-Cold War era. The book clearly shows that the United States developed within a global context and that U.S. history was especially intricately intertwined with that of its hemispheric neighbors. That said, there are few new insights for most well-read historians. All the texts assessed are from 1988 through 2001, which necessarily sets this work in time; it would be enlightening to see a similar study done ten years hence. Recommended for public libraries and teachers' college collections.-Frederick J. Augustyn Jr., Library of Congress Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Copyright:

2004

Book Details

Book Quality:

Excellent

Book Size:

2 Pages

ISBN-13:

9781565848948

Publisher:

N/A

Date of Addition:

03/21/05

Copyrighted By:

Dana Lindaman and Kyle Ward

Adult content:

No

Language:

English

Has Image Descriptions:

No

Categories:

History, Nonfiction, Education, Politics and Government

Submitted By:

Lena

Proofread By:

Lena

Usage Restrictions:

This is a copyrighted book.