Missing methods: a call for holistic analysis of history textbooks

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to call for a holistic approach to the study of history textbooks. We engaged in an extensive analysis of textbook studies for the purpose of developing our own textbook study framework for the Thinking Historically for Canada’s Future project. We found that scholars rely on a narrow scope of research methods and that the field lacks attention to a holistic approach that broadens the researcher’s capacity to dissect positionality and perpetuation of historical knowledge(s). We demonstrate why it is beneficial for scholars to expand beyond narrow methods in the field of history textbook studies. Specifically, we illustrate that a holistic approach enables textbook researchers to further contest the often uncritical embrace of history textbooks and expand upon our understanding of the textbook as an artefact of our societies. In this article we significantly extend the yet to be taken-up call for a holistic approach to textbook studies.