Politics and the History Curriculum

The politicians and pastors who revised the Texas social studies standards made worldwide headlines. Politics and the History Curriculum sets the debate over the Texas standards within a broad context of politics, religion, media, and education, providing a clear analysis of these events and recommendations for teachers and policy makers.

"What's the matter with Texas? Outsiders too often dismiss it as an overgrown and ignorant child, shrouded in right-wing politics and fundamentalist religion. But that view is itself a gross caricature, as this close study of history and myth-making in Texas demonstrates. Rooting their story firmly in the social and political history of the Lone Star State, Keith A. Erekson and his colleagues bust a few big myths themselves. Read this book if you want to understand why Texans continue to contest their shared past, and why the rest of us should stop condescending to them." - Jonathan Zimmerman, professor of Education and History, New York University

"In these behind-the-scene essays, history educators and all citizens interested in history education will find chilling accounts of how the conservative Christian right played power politics to ensure that young Texans learn a largely white-washed U.S. history while remaining uneducated about world history. The essays in this important book give voice to teachers and history professors who were steamrollered by the Texas Board of Education." - Gary Nash, Professor Emeritus, Department of History, UCLA; Director, National Center for History in the Schools

"Politics and the History Curriculum offers the most comprehensive, thought-provoking, and timely examination yet of the ongoing controversy over history standards in Texas and across the nation. As an historian and textbook author, I especially appreciate the range and analytical quality of the essays collected here. This book is a must-read for any teacher, administrator, or citizen engaged with these issues." - Daniel Czitrom, co-author, Out of Many: A History of the American People

KEITH A. EREKSON is an award-winning writer, teacher, and historian. He teaches history at The University of Texas at El Paso, USA, where he is the founder and director of the university's Center for History Teaching & Learning.