Lies my teacher told me, by james loewen, explained how history textbooks got the story of america wrong, usually by softpedaling, oversimplifying and burying the thorny drama and uncertainties of the past under a blanket of dull, voiceofgod narration. Lies my teacher told me examines how historical events are presented in american high school text books, but at the same time it presents many historical events itself. Loewens lies my teacher told me, brings me news surprises on each page. He won a sydney spivack award from the american sociological association, the oliver cromwell cox award for distinguished antiracist scholarship. James william loewen is not just a normal writer but a very good and a very well known sociologist and historian as well. The must read book in the title of this post is lies my teacher told me everything your american history text book got wrong. While reading, i will blog my thoughts about loewens viewpoint, surprising ideas presented, and educational implications. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. Jul 26, 2018 lies my teacher told me in the age of alternative facts for years, as i have spoken around the united states about how we get history wrong, i have promised audiences that they can buy lies. Jim loewen taught race relations for twenty years at the university of vermont. After surveying eighteen leading high school american. Since its first publication in 1995, lies my teacher told me has gone on to win an american book award, the oliver cromwell cox award for distinguished antiracist scholarship, and to sell over half a million copies in its various editions. Lies my teacher told me diary of a young curmudgeon.
Find books like lies my teacher told me about christopher columbus. I resented the hell out of that book even as that little nagging worry grew larger, especially when i learned about incidents like the gulf of tonkin. Lies my teacher told me, and how american history can be used. I will pose questions for discussion that will hopefully enlighten educators on the qualms of american.
This national best seller is an entertaining, informative, and sometimes shocking expose of the way history is taught to american students. He is a regular contributor to the history channels history magazine and is a professor emeritus of sociology at the university of vermont. Download lies my teacher told me pdf ebook free your pdfs. Lies my teacher told me is a 1995 book by sociologist james w. What your history books got wrong from the worlds largest community of readers. James loewens book reads, in some ways, very much like howard zinns a peoples history of the united states.
If you have a student in high school, i would suggest you give them that. Plus easytounderstand solutions written by experts for thousands of other textbooks. We cant truly know our nations history without knowing the good and the bad. By making kennedy look like the hero, textbooks arent just lying to students. As someone who minored in american studies as well as political science and owns a bookcase of well worn history books, i take a lot of pride in my knowledge of american history. Its been awhile since i did a history post, but this book is too important to pass up and it brings up issues related to science as well.
Lies my teacher told me kansas city public library. Chapter 1 handicapped by history concerns historical horrificaion, a degenerative process much like calcification that makes people over. Lies my teacher told me about christopher columbus disproves the myths about columbus still enshrined in american textbooks with quotations from primary source material that sets the record straight. In college, most students of color give history departments a wide berth. As good a rifle company as any, easy company, 506th airborne division, us. Loewens lies my teacher told me sheds some new light on american history and how high school textbooks are getting it wrong. Loewens lies my teacher told me sheds some new light on american. Having sold nearly two million copies, the book also won an american book award and the oliver cromwell cox award for distinguished antiracist scholarship and was heralded on the front page of the new york times. Everything your american history textbook got wrong loewen, james w. Between black and white and edited the confederate and neo confederate reader. In lies my teacher told me, james loewen studies the biases of high school american history class. Across the south without exception they built the best state. Loewen, author of lies my teacher told me, more than picking apart the cherished myths of american history. Resources for teaching with lies my teacher told me.
Loewen is the bestselling and awardwinning author of lies across america, lies my teacher told me about christopher columbus, and sundown towns, all published by the new press. The fabulous sequel to the bestselling, awardwinning lies my teacher told me. But little old me, who bought into the falsehoods of white supremacy, had no choice but to sit and suffer day. Lies my teacher told me summary from litcharts the.
This book is great, especially for teachers or as a gift for any smart teenagers in. This would make a great supplement for students to learn to critically read their history and other textbooks. Chapter summary for james loewens lies my teacher told me, chapter 8 summary. Lies my teacher told me is not without controversy, however. Loewen examines how high school american history text books approach coverage of the federal government. Someone invented a trivia game based on my research about the nadir of race relations. Loewen brings history alive in all its complexity and ambiguity. The poster and accompanying 48page paperback book sum up the mistellingsand reveal the real storyin a graphically appealing and. Everything your american history textbook got wrong from the worlds largest community of readers. Lies my teacher told me a fascinating and informative book, lies my teacher told me by james w. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of lies my teacher told me by james w. Lies my teacher told me, by james loewen, explained how history textbooks.
The source of the problem, he decides, is the history textbook itself. From outdated textbooks to gross distortions of basic events and major figures, loewen exposes readers to a side of us history that most do not get in high school. Lies my teacher told me has now been adapted for middle school to high school age students. This is why i usually stick to books like this on my kindle, but i wanted this on. The american book awards were created by the before columbus foundation seventeen years ago to provide recognition for outstanding literary achievement from the entire spectrum of. Lies refers to omissions author loewen feels negatively affect our nation. The specimens in my collection of a dozen of the most popular. Which makes this book more than interesting to read. Everything your american history textbook got wrong is a 1995 book by sociologist james w.
Since its first publication in 1995, lies my teacher told me has become one of the most importantand successfulhistory books of our time. The main point of the book is to deconstruct the usage of textbooks in american high schools and colleges. Everything your american history textbook got wrong. James lowen in lies my teacher told me claims that historians view all the high history books with disdain because of how much is omitted and warped, my question is how do you historians view his book lies my teacher told me. First published over fifteen years ago and long outofprint, the poster and accompanying paperback book sum up the mistellingsand reveal the real storyin a graphically. Lies my teacher told me won the american book award and the oliver cromwell cox award for distinguished antiracist scholarship. Americans have lost touch with their history, and in lies my teacher told me professor james loewen shows why. Lies my teacher told me was recently republished, so i reached out to loewen to talk about what has changed, what lies we still tell ourselves, and how he thinks about historical truth in the age. The writer of lies my teacher told me is an american author.
Lies my teacher told me central bucks school district. After all, learning about ancient wars would be different than learning about more recent wars. A wiki supplement to lies my teacher told me with many good questions, videos, and other resources for teachers. Check out our revolutionary sidebyside summary and analysis. He won a sydney spivack award from the american sociological association, the oliver cromwell cox award for distinguished antiracist scholarship, and the. Everything your high school history textbook got wrong, in part a telling critique of existing textbooks, but also a gripping retelling of american history as it should, and could, be taught. Have you ever wondered whether history books were telling the truth. Jan 28, 2019 was i really supposed to idolize general robert e. In 1995 one of the new bestsellers went by the obnoxious title of lies my teacher told me. While not as radical as zinns seminal work, lies my teacher told me does expose a parade of misunderstandings most have about our past. Beginning with precolumbian history and ranging over characters and events as diverse as reconstruction, helen keller, the first thanksgiving, and the mai lai massacre, loewen offers an eyeopening critique of existing textbooks, and a. I have read the original and this is a good abridgement.
Lies has received critical acclaim as the winner of the 1996 american book award and the oliver cromwell cox award for distinguished antiracist scholarship. In addition, james loewen presents many key historical events. After surveying eighteen leading high school american history texts, he has concluded after surveying eighteen leading high school american history texts, he has concluded. Lies my teacher told me study guide from litcharts the. Learning elaborately about recent wars would be a good idea to compare to wars that will or might happen in the present. I will pose questions for discussion that will hopefully enlighten educators on the qualms of american history textbooks. The book won the american book award in 1996 as well as several other awards. Everything your american history textbook got wrong is a 1995 book by james w.
Loewen speaks on misconceptions about slavery and the underground railroad on thursday, july 29, at 6. Lies my teacher told me about christopher columbus. Lies my teacher told me aims to expose the twelve leading high school american history texts as blindly patriotic, mindlessly optimistic, and misinformative. But little old me, who bought into the falsehoods of white supremacy, had no choice but to sit and suffer day after day in my american history courses in the american south. Lies my teacher told me as someone who minored in american studies as well as political science and owns a bookcase of well worn history books, i take a lot of pride in my knowledge of american history. After surveying eighteen leading high school american history texts, he has concluded that not one does a decent job of. Lies my teacher told me quotes from litcharts the creators. Lies my teacher told me is one of the most importantand successfulhistory books of our time. Oct 14, 1995 lies my teacher told me is a wellwritten and insightful expose of some of the problems inherent in the teaching of us history in public schools. Books similar to lies my teacher told me about christopher. Lies my teacher told me summary from litcharts the creators.
In college, most students of color give history departments a. Lies my teacher told me everything your american history teacher got wrong j loewen. Jun 27, 2018 the writer of lies my teacher told me is an american author. Loewen is the bestselling author of lies my teacher told me and lies across america. Moreover, loewens claim, feelgood history for affluent white males. Everything your american history textbook got wrong by james loewen is a book about factual inaccuracies found in a survey of twelve popular history textbooks. James lowen in lies my teacher told me claims that. Find a summary of this and each chapter of lies my teacher told me. Loewen, takes a look at twelve popular american history textbooks and concludes that the information is false, viewed primarily from an european perspective, and made up to credit national myths. Loewen, author of lies my teacher told me, lies across america, and sundown towns. Loewen, a sociology professor and distinguished critic of history education, puts 12 popular textbooks under the microscope, and what he discovers will surprise you. Apr 02, 2011 its been awhile since i did a history post, but this book is too important to pass up and it brings up issues related to science as well. In his opinion, loewen states that most of thesebooks contain incorrect information about people and events that haveshaped the history of both america and its culture.
Even in japanese text books there are only 3 or so pages dedicated to the recent 911. Loewen is the bestselling and awardwinning author of lies my teacher told me, lies across america, and sundown towns all available from the new press, among many other books and articles. Some adults may prefer to read this version as well. Nov 20, 2018 lies my teacher told me was recently republished, so i reached out to loewen to talk about what has changed, what lies we still tell ourselves, and how he thinks about historical truth in the age. Lies my teacher told me chapter 8 summary course hero. In lies my teacher told me about christopher columbus, the bestselling author of lies my teacher told me offers a graphic corrective to the columbus story told in so many american classrooms.
Having sold nearly two million copies, the book won an american book award and the oliver cromwell cox award for now adapted for young readers in grades 7 and up, the national bestseller that makes real american history come alive in all of its conflict. Find the quotes you need in james loewens lies my teacher told me, sortable by theme, character, or chapter. James loewens last book, lies my teacher told me, a debunking of the twelve leading highschool american history textbooks, won the american book award, the aesa critics choice award, and the oliver cromwell cox award for antiracist scholarship. What started out as a survey of the twelve leading american history textbooks has ended up being what the san francisco chronicle calls an. Watching big brother in james loewens lies my teacher told me. Lies my teacher told me, and how american history can be.
Jamesloewens lies my teacher told me is a critical analysis ofmodern american history books that students use while attending theirhistory classes. Beginning with precolumbian history and ranging over characters and events as diverse as reconstruction, helen keller, the first thanksgiving, the my lai massacre, 911, and the iraq war, loewen offers an eyeopening critique of existing. It critically examines twelve popular american high school history textbooks and concludes that the textbook authors propagate false, eurocentric and mythologized views of american history. Thats a good hook, but unfortunately once the hook gets you the place it pulls you into is slightly different than what you might expect.
664 1472 337 741 300 678 263 481 1477 939 950 947 1053 685 300 140 1012 430 55 673 10 1022 679 871 75 1342 822 603 792 751 1352 89 606 363