Center for History Teaching and Learning

Praise for Politics and the History Curriculum:

"What's the matter with Texas? Outsiders too often dismiss it as an overgrown and ignorant child, shrouded in right-wing politics and fundamentalist religion. But that view is itself a gross caricature, as this close study of history and myth-making in Texas demonstrates. Rooting their story firmly in the social and political history of the Lone Star State, Keith A. Erekson and his colleagues bust a few big myths themselves. Read this book if you want to understand why Texans continue to contest their shared past, and why the rest of us should stop condescending to them."

--Jonathan Zimmerman, professor of Education and History, New York University

"In these behind-the-scene essays, history educators and all citizens interested in history education will find chilling accounts of how the conservative Christian right played power politics to ensure that young Texans learn a largely white-washed U.S. history while remaining uneducated about world history. The essays in this important book give voice to teachers and history professors who were steamrollered by the Texas Board of Education."

--Gary Nash, Professor Emeritus, Department of History, UCLA;
Director, National Center for History in the Schools

"Politics and the History Curriculum offers the most comprehensive, thought-provoking, and timely examination yet of the ongoing controversy over history standards in Texas and across the nation. As an historian and textbook author, I especially appreciate the range and analytical quality of the essays collected here. This book is a must-read for any teacher, administrator, or citizen engaged with these issues."

--Daniel Czitrom, co-author, Out of Many: A History of the American People

Most of the contributors to this volume relied on the Center's online TEKSWatch archive that documents the revision process.

Citation: Keith A. Erekson, ed., Politics and the History Curriculum: The Struggle over Standards in Texas and the Nation (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012).

El Paso, TX, October 4, 2012
"Culture War Circus: How Politicians and the Media Play Games in Texas," by Keith A. Erekson

Bloomington, IN,, November 30, 2012
"Teaching History in a Culture War Circus," by Keith A. Erekson

Milwaukee, WI, April 21, 2012
Annual meeting of the Organization of American Historians
"Thinking Like Historians: Issues and Challenges Facing K-16 Educators and Students in the Twenty-First Century," by Linda K. Salvucci
"Teaching History in a Social Studies Circus," by Keith A. Erekson

New York City, NY, February 23, 2012
Inter-University Program for Latino Research
"The Rise of Latino Advocates: Fighting for Our History in Texas," by Julio Noboa

Chicago, IL, January 6, 2012
Annual meeting of the American Historical Association
The Texas Social Studies Standards Experience: What Can We Learn? by Keith A. Erekson, Laura K. Muñoz, and Julio Noboa

Lancaster, PA, November 3, 2011
Franklin and Marshall College, Department of Religious Studies
"A Christian America?" by Richard T. Hughes

Chicago, IL, November 2, 2011
National Association for Multicultural Education
"Names & Narratives: Seeking Multicultural Content in the Texas History Standards" by Julio Noboa

Austin, TX, October 22, 2011
Texas Council for the Social Studies
"Our Nation and Our World: Two Critical Views of TEKS History Standards" by David Fisher and Julio Noboa

Granada, Spain, June 8, 2011
International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities
"The Struggle for Latino Representation: A Battle for History in Texas" by Julio Noboa

Sydney, Australia, April 27, 2011
Keynote address at the Australian National History Conference
"Lessons from the Texas Experience with K-12 History Standards" by Keith A. Erekson

New Orleans, LA, April 2011
Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association
"Reconciling the Texas Social Studies Standards" by Laura K. Muñoz

Houston, TX, March 18, 2011
Annual Meeting of the Organization of American Historians
"The Texas Textbook Controversy" by Emilio Zamora

Corpus Christi, TX, February 2011
Coastal Bend Social Forum 2011: Civil Rights and Responsibilities
"Rewriting History" by Laura K. Muñoz

Lubbock, TX, October 8-9, 2010
Texas Faculty Collaborative for Social Studies Workshop
"Implementing the TEKS Revision: CCRS for Historical Understanding" by Stephen Cure, Laura K. Muñoz, Julio Noboa, and Keith A. Erekson