Over the past several decades, higher education in the United States has been shaped by marketization and privatization. Efforts to critique these developments often rely on a contrast between a bleak present and a romanticized past. In "Unsettling the University," Sharon Stein offers a different entry point--one informed by decolonial…

At a time when many individuals and institutions are reexamining their histories to better understand their tangled roots of racism and oppression, "Reckoning: Kalamazoo College Uncovers Its Racial and Colonial Past" tells the story of how American ideas about colonialism and race shaped Kalamazoo College, a progressive liberal arts…

This book explores tensions between "critical social justice" and what the author terms "white justice as fairness" in public commemoration of Minnesota's US-Dakota War of 1862. First, the book examines a regional "white public pedagogy" demanding "objectivity" and "balance" in…

Angry debates about polarizing speakers have roiled college campuses. Conservatives accuse universities of muzzling unpopular opinions, betraying their values of open inquiry; students sympathetic to the left openly advocate against completely unregulated speech, asking for "safe spaces" and protection against visiting speakers and even…

Colleges and universities are among the most cherished--and controversial--institutions in the United States. In this updated edition of "A History of American Higher Education," John R. Thelin offers welcome perspective on the triumphs and crises of this highly influential sector in American life. Exploring American higher education…

"Plantation Politics and Campus Rebellions" provides a multidisciplinary exploration of the contemporary university's entanglement with the history of slavery and settler colonialism in the United States. Inspired by more than a hundred student-led protests during the Movement for Black Lives, contributors examine how campus…

When universities began in the Middle Ages, Pope Gregory IX described them as "wisdom's special workshop." He could not have foreseen how far these institutions would travel and develop. Tracing the eight-hundred-year evolution of the elite research university from its roots in medieval Europe to its remarkable incarnation today,…

The thoroughly updated second edition of this dynamic and thoughtful collection focuses on the issues that have shaped American higher education in the past decade. "Essential Documents in the History of American Higher Education," designed to be used alongside John R. Thelin's "A History of American Higher Education" or on its…

In the United States, colleges and universities have traditionally undertaken the important task of preparing citizens to participate fully and effectively in the civic, political, and economic spheres of the republican system. They have done so by joining a general education curriculum--common to all students--to an area of specialized knowledge,…

Ten years ago, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA) gathered data on 100 colleges from the U.S. News & World Report's annual list of "Best Colleges and Universities." ACTA questioned whether these elite institutions were requiring their students to take rigorous, college-level courses in the core areas crucial for…

Current educational reforms have given rise to various types of "educational Taylorism," which encourage the creation of efficiency models in pursuit of a unified way to teach. In history education curricula, this has been introduced through scripted textbook-based programs such as Teacher Curriculum Institute's "History…

"History of American Higher Education" documents the fascinating evolution of American colleges and universities, touching on the historical events that shaped them, from the colonial era through the early twenty-first century. Throughout history, higher education has played an important role in the transmission of cultural identity from…

The great International Expositions of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries brought together the world's political, intellectual, and industrial leaders for the exchange of information and ideas. They also promoted specific cultural values and belief systems. In this book, Eugene F. Provenzo, Jr. looks specifically at the educational…

As the commercialization of American higher education accelerates, more and more students are coming to college with the narrow aim of obtaining a preprofessional credential. The traditional four-year college experience--an exploratory time for students to discover their passions and test ideas and values with the help of teachers and peers--is in…

"Teaching History to Adolescents: A Quest for Relevance" is an exploration of research, ideas, trends, and practices for educators who teach American history to adolescents from the middle grades through high school. Higher education faculty in history and professional education will also find the book germane to their work. Topics within the…