This paper offers a method for examining elite schools in a global setting by appropriating Theodor Adorno's constellational approach. I contend that arranging ideas and themes in a non-deterministic fashion can illuminate the social reality of elite schools. Drawing on my own fieldwork at an elite school in Argentina, I suggest that local and…

The past decade has seen a resurgence of scholarship on world literature. The best-selling successes of "Great Books" arguments contained in Azar Nafisi's memoir "Reading Lolita in Tehran" and in Dai Sijie's novel "Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress" seem to mirror, on the popular front, this scholarly return to the question of world…

The history of higher education in Bulgaria is closely interlinked with the overall development of the country during the last two centuries. Under long foreign domination, the Bulgarian people's loss of not only political and economic but also spiritual and religious sovereignty led to a broad-based struggle by all social groups and classes for…

The trend towards private schooling and educational diversity departs sharply from past educational policies. A brief historical overview of education is offered to help in the understanding of current policies in education. American education has shifted from a commitment to cohesion through education to a diversity in educational practices. (DF)

This paper has several concerns. It is about both the stories we tell and the images we place with those stories; it is also about historical practice and the power of the image to generate new research approaches. The paper is organized into three sections: the "eye of history" and historians and the visual archive; histories of black…

Observes that higher education is increasingly internationalized, whereas nation states increasingly seek to use higher education institutions for national purposes. Identifies eras in which the interests of nations and higher education have converged, diverged, and partially reconverged. Explores the purposes of the nation state and the reasons…

The document traces the development of education in Japan from the 17th century to the present. It is presented in four chapters. Chapter one discusses the Tokugawa Period (1603-1867). Principal forms of schooling were hanko for the Samurai class and terakoya for the commoners. The hanko were established for the benefit of the fiefs; objectives of…

This paper examines how the idea of "race" is represented in high school Canadian history textbooks. It looks at textbooks authorized by the Province of Ontario between 1940 and 1960 and those authorized after 2000. It is argued in this paper that even though historical racisms have increasingly made their way into Canadian history…

Reviews the efforts to improve K-12 geography instruction in the past 2 decades. Identifies current projects and their characteristics. Asserts that geographic literacy is even more necessary in a economically and socially interdependent world. (CFR)

Historical, philosophical, and social perspectives concerning the development of Soviet society are presented. The concepts of orthodoxy, autocracy, and nationalism that were integral to Russian life for nearly one thousand years of history are discussed, and principles of socialism and communism that were inaugurated in November 1917 in…

Although German influences in North America were prominent in the decades just before and after 1900, the advent of World War I marked a major decline in the ethnic identity and bilingualism of German-Americans. Specifically, the German communities in Ontario and the Prairie Provinces in Canada and the Midwest and Great Lakes States in the United…

Because of revisions made in the content of history textbooks, Japan has been accused of attempting to rewrite history as part of a larger conspiracy to brainwash students and to rearm the nation. Discussed are the legal authority of the national government to screen and approve textbooks and international reactions. (RM)

The author describes how early America adopted a standard of literature study expressing the nation's predominately English/European heritage. Since the 1970 census indicates that European Americans are no longer the majority, he suggests that it's time to broaden literature study to other cultures and to America itself. (SJL)

Modern education in Japan from 1868 to 1945 stressed "national education" in order to promote a sense of belonging to the Japanese state. The Japanese culture was thought to be superior to that of its "less advanced" East Asian neighbors, and Japanese people were encouraged to adopt a "Yamato" identity (the seat of an…

Articles in this collection clearly illustrate that the debate over indigenous and Western knowledge confronts the Pacific microstates with polarities that are difficult to resolve. Among them is the colonial heritage of an educational system designed to promote docility. National leaders face hard choices in addressing national goals. (SLD)