Teaching the Violent Past
Teaching the Violent Past

Carnegie Council Announces the Publication of "Teaching the Violent Past" edited by Elizabeth Cole

Sep 21, 2007

How does a society deal with a violent past? This question is answered in Teaching the Violent Past: History Education and Reconciliation, which examines the politics of how history is taught and the making of national identities and national memories following a conflict within a society. Edited by Elizabeth (Lili) Cole, this book is copublished by the Carnegie Council and Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. It grew out of a five-year research project sponsored by the Carnegie Council.

In this volume, an international group of experts explore the slow process of reconciliation between former enemies and how the violent past is taught. Using an interdisciplinary approach, the book covers nine specific case studies in Germany, Japan, Canada, Northern Ireland, Guatemala, Spain, Russia, North and South Korea, and India and Pakistan.

"Cole provides an indispensable set of readings for anyone interested in learning how teaching history in the schools relates to healing after violence," says Sarah Freedman of the University of California at Berkeley. "Through their gathered chapters, the authors show how any nation's future relates to what the next generation learns about its past. Cole's collection offers a powerful synthesis of multi-national points of view, which, taken together, show how schools can reshape collective national identities and influence reconciliation."

Teaching the Violent Past is essential for anyone interested in conflict resolution, history education, and societies in transition. The case studies are carefully structured, well researched, and written in an easy-to-follow style. Educators, students, and policy makers will find this book invaluable, as will the general reader interested in how societies struggle to come to terms with their past.

Elizabeth Cole is assistant director of TeachAsia in the Education Division of Asia Society in New York City. As a senior program officer at the Carnegie Council from 2000 to 2005, she developed the History and Politics of Reconciliation Program. More information on the program can be found on the Council's website.

Teaching the Violent Past can be purchased by visiting Rowman & Littlefield or by phoning 800-462-6420.

Copies purchased online will receive a special 15% discount!

You may also like

SEP 20, 2022 News

Carnegie Council Opens Registration for a Special Global Ethics Day Event with Michael Schur, Creator of "The Good Place" and Author of "How to Be Perfect: The Correct Answer to Every Moral Question"

Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs today released its programming lineup for the ninth annual Global Ethics Day on October 19, featuring an event with ...

JAN 7, 2021 News

Just Out: "Ethics & International Affairs" Winter 2020 Issue

The editors of Ethics & International Affairs are pleased to present the Winter 2020 issue of the journal! The highlight of this issue is a roundtable organized ...

Election Day 2020. Des Moines, Iowa. CREDIT: <a href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/tabor-roeder/50564518207/">Phil Roeder</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/">(CC)</a>

DEC 15, 2020 News

The Public Supports a Foreign Policy Approach that Prioritizes Building Collaborative Partnerships with Other Democratic States

This project on U.S. Global Engagement was launched in 2018. Following the two previous reports, "The Public Responds" includes findings from two surveys taken in 2020 ...