In the wake of the German invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, Soviet museum curators began to establish a museal depiction of the war. This article analyzes these early beginnings of Soviet war commemoration and the curtailing of its surprising heterogeneity in late Stalinism. Historical research has largely ignored the impact of Soviet…

This article explores a key claim underpinning Russian official memory politics, namely, the notion that Russia's past (and especially the role it played in the Second World War) is the object of a campaign of "historical falsification" aimed at, among other things, undermining Russian sovereignty, especially by distorting young people's…

This article explores the theoretical understanding of the relation between school history textbooks and the state-led construction of national identity. It does this by conceptualizing a history textbook as an assembly of historical narratives that provide young readers with an opportunity to identify with the national community in which they…

The main aim of this study is to offer a comparative analysis of historical narratives, with reference to the nexus between ideology, the state, and nation-building--as depicted in current history school textbooks in the Russian Federation (RF). This analysis of the core Russian history textbooks prescribed by the Ministry of Education and Science…

A visitor to a random sampling of Modern World History classes in the United States will find that the subject of "revolution" is a favorite for many students. Reading about and researching individuals and topics such as Tsar Nicholas II, Rasputin, Marie Antoinette and guillotines is never boring. Unfortunately, in too many classrooms,…

This article tests the assumption that state-mandated multiple-choice history exams are a cultural tool for disseminating an "official" collective memory. Findings from a qualitative study of a collection of multiple-choice questions that relate to the history of the Soviet Union are presented. The 263 questions all come from New York…

The book is entitled History Wars in the Classroom: Global Perspectives and examines how ten separate countries have experienced debates and disputes over the contested nature of the subject, for example the "Black Armband" and "Whitewash" factions in Australia who adopt opposingly celebratory or denigratory views of Australian…

These essays were written to assist teachers in the task of making Russian history intelligible to young U.S. students. In "An Approach to Russian History," Edward Keenan proposes that students need to gain a better understanding of how Russians perceive themselves and their history. In "Pre-Petrine Russia," Andrzej S. Kaminski…

Historically, the cold war was a watershed that separated two epochs: the time of abnormal, although compelled, partnership of two political systems and the period of peaceful coexistence with barely hidden hostility. The peacefulness of the latter, however elusive and vulnerable it was from time to time, has to be credited to the cold war, a…

Students' views on history inspired the author to reflect on her own teaching and to explore historical thinking. She decided to research the impact of a three-step approach to reading primary documents on ninth grade world history students, she was curious as to whether developing and using a consistent series of strategies with various primary…

Learning to appreciate religious art and to understand the interdependence of history and art are basic to the foundations of culture. Students need to be exposed to the art of the diverse adherents of all major religions in order to understand the beliefs and practices of others. Students can examine religious art from ancient times, including…

This document contains an annotated listing of instructional aids for Russian and East European studies that are available for loan or rent from Indiana University (Bloomington). The materials are divided into nine sections: (1) slide programs; (2) filmstrips available from the Indiana University (IU) Russian and East European Institute; (3) audio…

Asserts that the end of the Cold War and new world realities present challenges to social studies teachers. Presents suggestions for helping students change their way of thinking about the world and the place of the United States within it. Encourages teachers to examine the existing social studies curriculum for relevance. (CFR)

Asserts that the guiding principles of the United Nations and the issues it faces are a major part of the interdisciplinary program at Morristown-Beard School in New Jersey. Describes the Model UN club and how it reinforces the content and values presented in the regular curriculum. (CFR)

The "ISSS Annual Conference Proceedings" is a peer-reviewed professional publication published once a year following the annual conference. (Individual papers contain references.) [For the 2009 proceedings, see ED504973.]