Controversial History Education in Asian Contexts by Baildon, Mark; Loh, Kah Seng; Lim, Ivy Maria;

Short description:

This book examines both history textbook controversies AND teaching historical controversy in Asian contexts. The different perspectives offer insights, examples and approaches for understanding historical controversy that will provide a practical gold mine for scholars and practitioners.

Long description:

This book examines both history textbook controversies AND teaching historical controversy in Asian contexts. The different perspectives provided by the book’s authors offer numerous insights, examples, and approaches for understanding historical controversy to provide a practical gold mine for scholars and practitioners. The book provides case studies of history textbook controversies ranging from treatments of the Nanjing Massacre to a comparative treatment of Japanese occupation in Vietnamese and Singaporean textbooks to the differences in history textbooks published by secular and Hindu nationalist governments in India. It also offers a range of approaches for teaching historical controversy in classrooms. These include Structured Academic Controversy, the use of Japanese manga, teaching controversy through case studies, student facilitated discussion processes, and discipline-based approaches that can be used in history classrooms. The book’s chapters will help educational researchers and curricularists consider new approaches for curriculum design, curriculum study, and classroom research.

"Controversial History Education in Asian Contexts deftly explores the role of controversial histories within and across multiple epistemological paradigms. … Cutting across all cases within this volume is the overarch-ing goal of developing an informed and active citizenry, which is a social education rendering of history and its utility. … [T]his volume collectively offers provocative points of departure as unique contexts grapple with the critical charge of positioning students to explore controversial normative and moral issues in historical and contemporary forms. The inclusion of controversial issues in the curriculum may help improve students’ critical thinking, prepare them to participate fully and effectively in democratic societies, encourage political engagement, and develop a commitment to democratic values." --Thomas Misco, Miami University, USA. Published in TRaNS: Trans -Regional and -National Studies of Southeast Asia, Available on CJO 2015 doi:10.1017/trn.2015.3

Table of Contents:

Section 1: Settings  1. Introduction: Controversy, History, and History Education in Asia  Loh Kah Seng, Mark Baildon, Ivy Maria Lim, Gül İnanç, and Junaidah Jaffar  2. Teaching Controversial Issues in the Classroom: The Exciting Potential of Disciplinary History  Stuart Foster  Section 2: Controversies in History Textbooks  3. The Battle Over Memory of the Nation: Whose National History?  Helen Ting  4. The Other Side of Silence: Religion and Conflict in Indian Textbooks  Deepa Nair  5. How Can We Teach the Old Foe’s Wounds? Analysis of Descriptions of the Japanese Occupation and the Atomic Bombs in Vietnamese and Singaporean Textbooks  Eisuke Saito, Theresa Alviar-Martin and Khong Thi Diem Hang  6. Constructing the Nation: Portrayals of National Identity in Singapore’s School Textbook Narratives of the Japanese Occupation   Khatera Khamsi and Paul Morris  7. Japanese Textbooks and the Asia-Pacific War: Apportioning Blame  Jean-Louis Margolin  8. Representing the War in Manga  Karl Ian Cheng Chua  9. Between Remembering and Protecting: Introduction of Cultural Heritage into Singapore’s Primary Social Studies Syllabus 2012  Gül İnanç  Section 3: Teaching Historical Controversy  10. Academic Controversy and Singapore History: Context, Teachers and Subpublics  Loh Kah Seng and Junaidah Jaffar  11. Teaching of Historical Controversies using the SAC Approach: A Case of History Teachers in Singapore  Ivy Maria Lim  12. A Disciplinary Approach to Teaching Historical Controversy in Singapore’s Schools: The Case of the Internal Security Act  Mark Baildon and Suhaimi Afandi  13. A Reflection on University Teaching of the Nanjing Controversy  Jason Lim  14. Overcoming the ‘Practicality Ethic’  Denis Mootz  15. Diversity and Controversy in the Facilitated Classroom  Sue Goodney Lea and Taiyi Sun