Middle School History Textbooks Research Articles

Teaching Historical and Current Events from Multiple Perspectives The Korean War and Six-Party Talks

Comparing international history textbooks creates a perfect opportunity for students to see the complexity and controversy of history interpretation of certain events. Such a critical comparative approach helps students understand how people in different countries perceive and interpret the Korean War, its aftermath, and its effects on current international relation-ships. In this article, we suggest that teachers approach the Korean War and the Six-Party Talks in two ways: Six-Party Discussion Table motivation activities and analysis of middle school history textbook excerpts about the Korean War in the six countries. Detailed lesson plans and handouts are provided for teachers to facilitate these discussions. These include the directions and procedures for the activities, teachers' guide, suggested answers, textbook excerpts from the United States, and textbook excerpts translated into English China, Japan, Russia, North Korea, and South Korea.

Tempest in a Textbook: A Report on the New Middle-School History Textbook in Japan

How does a middle-school history textbook go about promoting nationalistic pride in adolescent Japanese? Trying to reconcile this goal with the sorry examples of Japan's military exploits before and during World War II has created considerable domestic and international concern, not to mention highly emotional protests. This report presents some of the provocative contents, strategies of presentation, and political repercussions of the “new history textbook,” approved by Japan's Ministry of Education and Science in 2001 for use in public and private middle schools nationwide. Sponsored and authored by the Japan Society for History Textbook Reform (Atarashii Rekishi Kyōkasho o Tsukuru Kai), the textbook's problematic rendition of history has produced an uproar over the government's screening and approval process, renewed concern about an upsurge of nationalistic activity in Japan, and adversely affected Japan's relations with China and South Korea.