Four recent movies and broadcasts have brought our attention to historical episodes of racism, anti-semitism, authoritarianism, and murder in the first half of the Twentieth Century. These episodes had been largely forgotten as the history of social progress has been celebrated. New attention to past events as presented in the four works is…

The movies can be part of sudden and thorough revelations of attitudes toward current events. The ambiguities of our history can be seen in the swings of public sentimentality. In the movies, these swings are highlighted. Our deepest sentiments can be unexpectedly unstable. What we find in the movies can emphasize these discontinuities. "West…

The role of literacy in social studies education has been greatly elevated over the last decade. The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) models through the indicators of its C3 Framework how to strengthen K-12 students' disciplinary thinking, literacy, and argumentation skills in the four core social studies disciplines: civics,…

HBO's "Lovecraft Country" is a model resource for developing speculative civic literacies, which are forms of meaning making aimed at helping students conceive of a more equitable democratic society. Speculative civic literacies and "Lovecraft Country" both center the tension between Afrofuturism and Afropessimism in the…

The story of American superheroes cannot be told without the publisher DC and its evolving audience. During the latter 1930s and early 1940s, DC Comics assembled a catalog of superheroes that became the archetype of the genre itself: Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman. As DC Comics' audience and market grew throughout the decades, the company's…

Black experiences and discourse concerning citizenship are unique. Moreover, Black access to full citizenship is often a matter of life and death. The civic purposes driving this pursuit are often negated in conventional curriculum and pedagogy, especially in early childhood settings. Still, it is essential for educators and policymakers to…

Popular music has existed in American education since the 1700s. However, biases related to race and class, and concern for student morality have often led educators to eliminate or suppress these musics in the classroom. Progressive teachers and students themselves sometimes advocated for popular styles, which eventually made their way into the…

In this article, Kate Collins begins by explaining how she discovered that "Hamilton: An American Musical," a Broadway show that incorporates a mix of musical genres: hip-hop, jazz, classic show tunes, and show-stopper numbers based on the life of Alexander Hamilton, could be brought into her teaching as a rich resource for her high…

This article examines the ways in which "Hamilton: An American Musical" can be read less as a historical account and more as a prediction of a future immigrant, who is called upon to (re)define US nationhood. Keeping with the tempo of the musical as well as the broader issues of time, space and identity it attempts to address, this…

In this pioneering interdisciplinary reader, Hilton Kelly and Heather Moore Roberson have curated essential readings for thinking about black education from slavery to the present day. The reading selections are timeless, with both historical and contemporary readings from educational anthropology, history, legal studies, literary studies, and…

This article examines the story of Washington chopping down the cherry tree, as it appears in school readers. The author discusses the ideological influences that guided authors in molding and shifting the story through the decades. At the end, the author returns to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) revival of Washington, which demonstrates…

Depictions of college students' alcohol use changed substantially in novels published between 1865 and 1933, years in which higher education expanded and college students became the focus of popular culture. In novels published before 1920, student drinking oscillated widely, primarily mediated by gender, socioeconomic status, and…

According to the author, as our abilities to combine image and text become more sophisticated and ubiquitous, digital storytelling is a powerful means for sharing those stories. Digital storytelling is a perfect way to remix stories. To present American literature as relevant to students' lives, the author rewrote their curriculum using backwards…

Music history and punk rock have long had an uneasy relationship because historians often fail to take two major factors into account when approaching the subject matter. One: punk's raison d'etre is to subvert much that music historians rely on in order to deem a particular performer or group significant. And two: punk is a living, thriving…

In this article Abraham Lincoln is considered as an alternative to the usual type of patriot's hero. He reminds us of our great historical failings. He remains a figure of controversy, a national hero in only some corners of society. He is the heroic President who serves as the first compassionate defender of the downtrodden, and he is a hero…