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Social scientist and professor James Loewen is an outspoken critic of "feel-good" history. In his book "Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American Textbook Got Wrong" (1996) he debunks the myths and exposes the omissions he feels are taught in the nation's high schools. Disturbed by his toon meer college students' lack of knowledge of history and concerned about minority misconceptions, Loewen spent two years at the Smithsonian analyzing 12 leading history texts and 11 years writing this best-selling indictment of history teaching. Loewen believes that controversy has been removed from classrooms in favor of blind patriotism. "Any history book that celebrates, rather than examines, our heritage has the by-product, intended or not, of alienating all those in the 'out group', those who have not become affluent, and denies them a tool for understanding their own group's lack of success." Loewen's other books include ""Mississippi: Conflict and Change" (1974, rev. 1980), a revisionist history of the state written with a coalition of students and faculty at Tougaloo College, Mississippi; "Mississippi Chinese: Between Black and White" (1971), a study of this minority's role in society; "Social Science in the Courtroom" (1983), based on the author's experiences as an expert witness in civil rights cases and "The Truth About Columbus: A Subversively True Poster Book For A Dubiously Celebratory Occasion" (1992). In addition, the author is a frequent contributor to professional publications, sometimes under the pseudonym James Lyons. James W. Loewen was born February 6, 1942 in Decatur, Illinois and was educated at Carleton College (B.A., 1964) and Harvard University (M.A, 1967; Ph.D., 1968). He was a sociologist and teacher specializing in race relations at Tougaloo College, Mississippi from 1968 to 1974. (Bowker Author Biography) toon minder

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(2005)NF. Thought provoking book about the existence since the turn of the century of towns that exclude minorities, especially African-Americans. This is done by violence, government policy, rational acts by their citizens for irrational reasons. Good read on a sociological subject.
 
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derailer | 8 andere besprekingen | Jan 25, 2024 |
A book still worth reading. Loewen does not hold back. It is a detailed critique of history textbooks in the American school system. I found this book interesting as it made me reflect on my own personal experiences taking history courses and the content teachers pushed. There were some items I was aware of but many I did not even know about. History is very broad and my high school teachers did not cover the recent past as it is labeled. I responded to this in college by taking alternative history courses such as ones that covered the Middle East or Women's Studies to cover some gaps. I do not think I needed to wait until college to explore this content and hope future textbooks take on a different flavor. I did a lot of highlighting in this particular book as there are so many good quotes.… (meer)
½
 
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Anamie | 2 andere besprekingen | Jan 19, 2024 |
People read it!
I am Russian. In my short lifetime (i'm 28 only) they have re-written Russian/Soviet history textbooks already two times, changing black to white arbitrarily, whatever suited the government better.
No nation wants to look bad. But producing fairy tales and lying to yourself is not a way out. And after acknowledging all sides of your heritage you are not going to be any worser. Quite the opposite, i think.
 
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Den85 | 97 andere besprekingen | Jan 3, 2024 |
I had actually heard a fair amount of the content of this book before (some of it from Guns, Germs, and Steel and some from sources like http://theoatmeal.com/comics/columbus_day), but this book was published before those, so I definitely appreciate the author's research. Reading and comparing all those awful textbooks was probably not a very fun task. If I'd been exposed to books like this when I was in school, I might've become more interested in history. As it was, I had the attitude the author describes in the book: I would cram to memorize the names and dates for the tests, then immediately forget them to make room for the next set of obscure facts, never taking in larger themes or making connections between events. My knowledge of history is still pretty spotty but I feel like I do have a bit better sense of some of the narratives that make up history now than I did in school, when I was supposedly studying it (mostly picked up from books like this, some historical fiction, and reading up on the history of individual countries that come up in the news when I'm embarrassed that I don't know anything about the context of a current conflict or issue in that country).… (meer)
 
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stardustwisdom | 97 andere besprekingen | Dec 31, 2023 |

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