THIS COURSE HAS CURRENTLY FILLED FOR FALL 2025.
This class delves into a different kind of war—not one of guns and bombs but a centuries-old battle over what history should be taught and commemorated. While I’ve always been passionate about studying history, it wasn’t until my years teaching high school history in Southeast Dallas that I began questioning the content mandated for our students. Why, for instance, did my students need to know about WWI Medal of Honor recipient Alvin York but not about Tulsa’s “Black Wall Street”? In this class, we’ll take a deep dive into the historical and contemporary debates about the representations of history in schools and public spaces. As we try to understand these debates, we will work on developing skills in research, writing, discussion, and public speaking.