My America: Immigration, Historical Education and Vision of Nationhood.
My America: Immigration, Historical Education and Vision of Nationhood.

Summary/Abstract: Ever since the United States of America was founded as a more perfect union, it has struggled to find a balance between a narrow, ascriptive, Eurocentric vision of nationhood favoring an explication of rational and/or divinely-sanctioned nation-building, and one that acknowledges the struggles and contributions of its ever-renewing immigrant citizenry in shaping its vision of self. This contrariety has played itself out in classrooms and textbooks where historical narratives of nation compete with societal reality; and in state houses where citizen-educators rather than academics seem to know history best. Whereas one can attribute this disconnect to curriculae catching up with changing demographics, in actuality, US History education’s de-facto role as the Great Americanizer has made it a factional battleground of what it means to be American; and a victim to the perversion of the very principles it seeks to instill. As a result, primary and secondary-school US History ranks amongst to lowest amongst subjects in terms of student proficiency and teacher competency. This article discusses the origins of the fraught relationship between vision of nationhood and citizenry education in the United States; and the necessitated steps to give renewed relevance and competence to historical education in developing the critical, informed citizenry fundamental to a well-functioning democracy.

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