This article focuses on ten U.S. history textbooks, all in common use across the nation. This study adopts a historical narrative analysis, which aims to determine the manner in which textbook narratives may promote "de facto national mandates." This method allows for the comparison of textbook narratives to historical works, looking for…

While the move away from the Western Civilization survey and towards the World History course was done with a sincere desire to blunt or end the Eurocentric historical narrative, for a variety of reasons, the narrative and its anti-Muslim bias has persisted, especially in the textbooks. The process of grafting additional narratives onto the core…

Peter Conolly-Smith, a history professor at Queens College, uses the textbook "The American Promise," since 1998, and now in its seventh edition. He has been using this book for twenty years, and it has accompanied him from one school to another, providing the backbone of his post-1865 survey course. The relationship he has developed…

Young children can engage in close reading, critical thinking, and historical thinking when age-appropriate texts are coupled with discipline-specific tasks. Prior knowledge is an impediment, though. Primary elementary learners simply do not have much of a historical schema. Because of primary elementary students' familiarity with Thanksgiving,…

Research about social studies textbooks overwhelmingly supports the conclusion that these books are unpopular and often the subject of intense criticisms. These criticisms concern anything ranging from the language they employ, to the way they are utilized by teachers, to the undue influence they exert on shaping and defining curriculum. This…

Reviews Frances FitzGerald's book, "America Revised," and discusses FitzGerald's critique of recent revisions in secondary-level U.S. history textbooks. The author advocates the implementation of a core curriculum for U.S. history which emphasizes political and local history. (AM)

Reviews the strengths of Kenneth Cooper's updated 1984 edition of Carl Becker's MODERN HISTORY. Contends that while other high school history textbooks sell better, that Becker's text does a better job of teaching European history while helping students develop the advanced academic skills needed for higher education. (JDH)

Analyzes selected college textbooks' treatment of the immigration acts of 1917, 1921, and 1924 as they affected immigration from Europe, assessing the accuracy and adequacy of their coverage. Concludes that coverage of immigration laws is uneven and that some texts contain errors that contribute to misunderstandings of immigration restriction and…

Intended to help college level history teachers choose the texts most appropriate to their teaching methods and student bodies, this article critiques Western and world civilization textbooks. (RM)

Examines and discusses the history manuals and textbooks used to teach history to children between the ages of 11 and 16 in the polytechnical schools of East Germany. Some general observations concerning East German educational practices are also included. (RM)

A university professor describes his experiences in compiling, editing, and finding a publisher for a reader for a college-level American history course. (RM)

Presents the first half of a 1971 critique of Palmer and Colton's textbook, "History of the Modern World," which suggests that western civilization courses sponsor a view of history that supports the dominant institutions and interest groups within a society. Examines the review's inadequacies while reaffirming the authors' confidence in…

The treatment of ethnic minorities in Russian history survey textbooks is examined. (DE)

A university professor describes his experiences with publishing companies and editors as he wrote the undergraduate U.S. history survey textbook "These United States." (RM)