This is the text of a paper given at the 2011 Symposium of the Australian Academy of the Humanities on the theme, "Educating the Nation: The Humanities in the New Australian Curriculum", the 42nd Annual Symposium of the Australian Academy of the Humanities at the University of Melbourne, 17 November 2011. It was presented in a session on "History, English, the Arts and the Australian Curriculum" introduced by Professor Barry McGaw, Chair of ACARA. Professor Marilyn Lake spoke on History in the Australian Curriculum. The Council of the Academy wanted to ensure that the symposium would appeal to many audiences beyond the Fellowship of the Academy, and it was well attended by secondary school teachers in English and History.