“How to be Thankful for Being Free”: Searching for a Convergence of Discourses on Teaching Patriotism, Citizenship, and United States History

Abstract

Immediately after the events of September 11, 2001, there was a dramatic upsurge in exhibitions of patriotism, most generally in the form of flags prominently displayed on houses, storefronts, and automobiles. There also was a renewed zeal for inculcating patriotic feelings in children at public schools across the country. This paper, based on a study of teacher credential candidates at a large urban midwestern university, suggests that there may be a need to create a new discourse of patriotism. Such a project might integrate patriotism, the discourse on citizenship education, and the discourse of multicultural education, into a coherent whole. This new discourse on patriotism might, then, ground the emotionalism of patriotism in the responsibility of citizenship, employing the critical thought generated in discourses of multiculturalism.