The history of mass communications suggests that the manipulation of visual imagery can have as powerful an effect on human behavior as the manipulation of the written word. Recent warnings about a "hidden curriculum" incorporated in the use of instructional technology indicate that multimedia techniques will not escape the controversy…

Examines ways the Middle East is presented in American high school textbooks, focusing on seven texts. The books are good introductions to culture, geography, and early history, but they do a poor job on contemporary issues, providing a poor foundation for the study of current events in the Middle East. (SLD)

Depicts the problems encountered by a Soviet history teacher whose textbooks and materials have not kept pace with the policy of Glasnost and student attitudes. Suggests that textbooks be replaced with original documents, scholarly articles, and memoirs. (SLM)