American Historical Association: Teaching History with Integrity

[Nevilledog]

Link to tweet

Tweet text:

American Historical Association
@AHAhistorians
The #FreedomToLearn our nation’s history is under siege. The AHA is leading or involved with several initiatives to combat divisive concepts bills and provide resources and support for educators advocating for teaching history. Learn more:

historians.org
Teaching History with Integrity
The AHA is leading or involved with several initiatives to combat divisive concepts bills and provides resources and support for educators advocating for teaching history.
7:46 AM · Apr 18, 2022

https://www.historians.org/news-and-advocacy/teaching-history-with-integrity

The freedom to learn our nation’s history is under siege. In many states, legislators have introduced “divisive concepts” bills that seek to limit history education in ways that would make it virtually impossible for teachers to help students to thoughtfully consider slavery and racism in American historical development. Some of these proposals have already become law. While most of this legislation is aimed at public primary and secondary education, many also specifically include or have implications for public higher education.

The AHA, its members, and other historians find ourselves on the front lines of a conflict over America's past, up against opponents who are actively promoting ignorance in the name of unity. The AHA is leading or involved with several initiatives to combat these bills and provides resources and support for educators advocating for teaching history. More information about additional AHA initiatives and resources will be coming soon.

*snip*



Good resources.

[niyad]

1. Thank you. I will be sharing this with a friend whose younger daughter

teaches history. . in Oklahoma, no less.

[Nevilledog]

2. Scary time to be a teacher.

[niyad]

3. No kidding. My friend's daughter, SiL, two grandaughters and one GSiL are

Last edited Mon Apr 18, 2022, 11:41 AM - Edit history (1)

all teachers in OK. My friend is a nervous wreck.

[Karadeniz]

4. I haven't heard that the dept education is taking this pillar of fascism to court.

[melm00se]

5. There must be a balance here

As an historian, I accept that Critical Race Theory is an historical school but it is not the only one.

Unfortunately the proponents of CRT see this as the be all and end all way of looking at history especially American history.

CRT is facing the same challenges that Marxist historiography faced in the 1940s-1950s. Marxist approach is an economic one (aka "follow the money" historiography)

The CRT proponents must accept (and promulgate) that their approach is just one of many:

Social history
Environmental history
World history
Economic history
Cultural history
Gender history
Subaltern studies
Ethnohistory
History of ideas
Linguistic history
(and this list is nowhere near comprehensive)

The pendulum will eventually swing back to something more central but it will be require that CRT not be the "shiny new object".