Using a multiple case study design, I examine how public high school students (n = 17) make sense of narratives about defining events with which they have specific heritage connections. Focusing on 3 groups of students (Hmong, Chinese, and Jewish) studying 3 heritage events (respectively, the Vietnam War, Modern China, and the Holocaust), this…

The sheer amount of American children's and young adult literature, boasting an outpouring of 5,000 titles every year, often amazes a person who is new to this field. Not only is a large proportion of these books of high printing and binding quality, but, at a quick glance, among them is also a pleasant diversity of genre, format, targeted age…

The rapid economic development in some regions of China over the past couple of decades has created disparities within the nation and has raised various social issues. To reduce these disparities and resolve these issues, the Chinese government has called for the creation of a more harmonious society through encouraging lifelong learning, learning…

The Second World War stands as the most devastating and destructive global conflict in human history. More than 60 nations representing 1.7 billion people or three quarters of the world's population were consumed by its horror. Not surprisingly, therefore, World War II stands as a landmark episode in history education throughout the world and its…

Use of symbolic figures in the college level world history course can provide a vehicle for studying social organization, political movements, and economic institutions of a given period. For example, Zhou Enlai, an activist and leader throughout much of the 20th century, symbolizes the major themes and forces of this era: change,…

This unit of study focuses on the historic period from 1920 to 1966 when China's Mao Zedong and India's Mohandas Gandhi constructed and applied their social and moral visions to their respective nationalist movements. These leaders developed contrasting methods to achieve social change and to establish the goals set for achieving the ideal…

This book explores the early years of the Cultural Revolution in China's schools, from the mobilization stage through the development of factionalism and the takeover of education by workers and peasants. An analysis of the relations between educational organizations and the larger society that made these developments possible is explored.…