In the following article I reflect on a few of the lessons provided by the late historian Howard Zinn, both his close reading of history, but even more so his critical insight "that history is made, not only received". Zinn used history much like a muckraking joumalist would: he wrote history not only "through" the eyes of common people, but "for"…

Argues that James Wilson has been slighted by scholars in history, law, and political science. Examines Wilson's contributions to our nation and in particular at the Constitutional Convention. Contends that Wilson should be emphasized more in textbooks and classrooms. (RKM)

Discusses the increasing availability of law, justice, and legal history as a first-year college course. Explains that the course is an interdisciplinary one, mostly taught by political scientists, sociologists, historians, and lawyers. Reviews available college and law school textbooks that could be used in the course. (SG)

Reviews the treatment of 15 different, often unrelated topics and eras, as found in the first volumes of 19 widely-used U.S. history survey textbooks. Topics reviewed include Jamestown, American slavery, the Constitution, and Fort Sumter. The review focuses on factual errors, questionable interpretations, boring prose, and the question of…

Discusses a follow-up examination of leading Western civilization and world history textbooks. Argues that the books have changed little over seven years. Identifies improvements but finds little alteration in the books' basic designs and interpretations. Concludes that the books' treatment of literature, art, philosophy, political science, and…

Reviews 16 successful, college-level anthropology textbooks, examining content, clarity, readability, audience level, scholarship, and focus. Advocates greater coverage of topics such as applied anthropology and suggests attention be given to alternatives to the standard cultural institutions of marriage, religion, etc. States that the scientific…

Our social worlds are visually saturated. A feature of post-modern society is its relentless traffic in images, often borrowed from diverse times and places, and patched together in ever changing ways. This traffic serves commercial purposes, shapes identities, and increasingly stands in for reality itself. As a newspaper columnist noted, "most of…

Provides a review of the use of history textbooks in United States schools. Focuses special attention on studies which sought to determine the treatment of specific groups or themes in secondary history textbooks by applying content analysis techniques. Concludes that only a limited number of studies quantified the data upon which the analysis was…

Traces the changes in international textbook research in recent years. Examines the role of social studies textbooks in integrating individuals into society. Reviews the historical origins of international textbook revision, and critiques the assumptions of international textbook research. Maintains that textbook research must define its…

Analyzes six U.S. civics and history textbooks used in grades seven through nine to determine what messages these texts convey to young people about the nature of civic life. Explores the results in three sections: (1) learning about the nature of democracy; (2) national identity and loyalty; and (3) diversity. (CMK)

Discusses an analysis of 10 common introductory psychology textbooks. Argues that the books tend to present psychology as tedious, even silly, and as a canned, multimedia, self-teaching program. Concludes that replacing textbooks with lectures based on the instructor's personal knowledge and experience would improve the teaching of psychology. (SG)

Considers the role the "National Standards for Civics and Government" will play in measuring and assessing the civic competence and political attitudes of students. Finds that the Standards will also affect the textbooks used in schools, national testing in grades K-12, and the tests taken by students seeking teaching credentials. (CMK)

Every year, historians in the United States attend the American Historical Association (AHA), a conference that has met annually since 1884. The AHA draws scholars from all specializations, and it is the primary organization through which the profession is represented. In 1969, the conference met at the Sheraton Park Hotel in Washington, D.C. At…

Analyzes high school economics textbooks through an examination of the questions that textbooks traditionally address about economic production: What, how much, and how will something be produced, and who gets the product? Considers teachers' relationships to economic textbooks and courses. Concludes that textbooks should be more relevant to…

Analyzes six high school U. S. government textbooks. Discusses method of evaluation. Compares textbooks based on the following criteria: content, physical characteristics, understandability, and fairness. Concludes that all of the textbooks studied competently meet the aforementioned research criteria. (RW)