In this article, we analyze and compare photographic images from some of the most widely circulated Japanese and American high school history textbooks regarding their treatment of the Pacific War. We focus on the visual component of war technology, the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the visibility or invisibility of women,…

In February 2019, two nations with the largest nuclear arsenals announced their withdrawal from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. Russia's interference in U.S. elections and the invasion of Ukraine has exacerbated tensions between the U.S. and Russia. These actions bring renewed attention to nuclear nonproliferation efforts…

In this article, the authors introduce and explicate Daisaku Ikeda's contributions to peace education. Ikeda is a Buddhist leader, peacebuilder, school founder, and prolific author whose six decades of contributions to peace education have had a global impact in practice but have remained unexamined in the extant, particularly Anglophone,…

This article explores the case of a Vietnamese teacher whose conception of teaching changed greatly following a short but intensive series of lessons based on the Japanese experiences with atomic bombs. The following three issues are considered: 1) what types of efforts teachers should make to increase the depth of their lessons, on the basis of…

Prior to a teaching assignment at Miyazaki Women's Junior College in 1993, the author accepted a 6-month contract to teach in the women's high school of the Miyazaki Educational Institute. In this article, she shares her first-day experience with a class of fifteen Miyazaki Girls' High School freshmen on their first lesson, a question-and-answer…

The dropping of atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in World War II inaugurated a new era in world history, the atomic age. After the war, the Soviet Union, eager to develop the same military capabilities as those demonstrated by the United States, soon rivaled the U.S. as an atomic and nuclear superpower. Faced by the possibility of…

William R. Tonso has chosen an issue that he knows something about to examine how sociology textbooks address controversy. Appealing for gun control is fashionable, but it is at odds with a fondness that ordinary Americans have for their firearms--one that is supported by a growing body of research on deterrence to crime. There are two sides to…

Analyzes the decision to drop the atomic bomb from a rhetorical point of view, arguing that the bombs were launched because of an American commitment to a particular rhetoric that focused on the propaganda slogan "unconditional surrender." (PD)

A review of 19 recently published, secondary-level United States and world history textbooks found only brief coverage of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki (Japan) bombings, slight attention to the arms race and disarmament, and concentration on scientific and technical developments behind the atomic bomb rather than on its effects. (Author/RW)

In an age when international terrorism poses a threat to peace and stability, the use of not only nuclear, but also biological and chemical weapons are important topics for classroom discussion. In this article, the author explores four approaches to teaching this topic. Examining a controversial topic involves the evaluation of values, the use of…

Examines scientific discoveries which underlie the atomic bomb and its technological development in the United States during World War II. Changing views, super-weapon development, early American efforts, production/dropping the bombs, and the Oppenheimer case are considered. (DH)

Explores how historical empathy can give students a richer understanding of the past, focusing on the development of the students' historical understanding through an analysis of 18 documents on President Truman's decision to use the atomic bomb against Japan. (CMK)

Presents results of a questionnaire asking Japanese teachers how and what they teach about World War II. Reports that survey included broad and narrow questions on the war in Asia, Europe, and the Pacific. Concludes that Japan's postwar peace education has been a success but that more emphasis needs to be placed on cause and effect in history. (DK)