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Background/Context: How students develop a capacity to examine and imagine the past impacts how they think about the present and imagine the future. This study contributes to research about teachers' beliefs and practices about teaching United States history through cultural encounters and nontraditional historical narratives. Although there is a small but growing body of research concerning teachers' beliefs and practices regarding historical thinking and inquiry, little research exists on teachers' beliefs and practices about history teaching from a cultural encounters perspective. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study: The study examined teachers' perspectives of a professional development effort designed to promote their students' historical thinking within a cultural encounters curriculum. This curriculum emphasized the role of perspective and historical narrative. The research questions were: (1) What were the K-12 participants' specific examples of lessons and units related to historical cultural encounters? (2) How did they conceptualize their teaching for historical cultural encounters? (3) How did they begin to reconceptualize their views about a cultural encounters history curriculum? Research Design: The study used a qualitative design to examine perceptions of 21 K-12 teachers. A conceptual framework about history teacher thinking and reconceptualization informed the design. Three forms of data -- surveys, individual interviews, and lesson plans--were collected about teachers' perceptions of practice and their applications of those perceptions in their classrooms. The surveys were administered throughout the 3-year program cycle and at the final evening colloquium. Interviews were conducted with the 21 teachers approximately 3 months after the end of the project. Lesson plans that teachers constructed at different points in the professional development project were analyzed after its conclusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The intent of this article is to examine the significance of Carter G. Woodson to the historical development of the fields of curriculum and social studies, particularly as they relate to the evolution of the modern multicultural movement. The authors focus on Woodson's contributions through his curriculum and his pedagogical efforts in establishing a more rigorous and historically accurate social studies framework through his community education initiatives, the Negro History Bulletin, and his textbooks. They conclude the article with a discussion of how Woodson's efforts can have direct implications for social studies educators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses how to use patents and their associated narratives to teach U.S. history. The author begins by detailing what a patent is. The author states that a patent is a document explaining the discovery, how it is constructed, and what it is claiming as a monopoly due to its novelty. How to access patents in the U.S. is explained. The author addresses how patents can provide information on what was challenging inventors and scientists of the time. The article also discusses the visual evidence provided by patents.

The article discusses how the curricular reform in the 1960s in Great Britain succeeded because of the attitudes toward religion and schooling while the curricular reform that introduces inquiry based instruction in the U.S. failed. It mentions that the relationship between the local schools and the national government, the attitudes toward schooling and the relationship between secondary and post secondary educations in both countries are the determining factors of the success of the New Social Studies of the U.S. and the New History of Great Britain. It adds that the British secondary education was already connected to its higher education so the new curricular materials were not as alien as those produced in the U.S.

The effect of a learner's point of view of history on his or her attitude toward a language and its learning has been recognized, particularly with reference to English language learning with regard to the political/power status of the language. However, the effect of learning about the history of the target language has not been addressed. The significance of learning about culture in foreign language learning has become generally accepted as being essential to the process, but learning about the history of the target culture has been ignored. In response, an introductory English as a foreign language course was designed that included, amongst other innovative concepts, discussions about the history of the English language and the initiation of the United States of America. Classroom-based research was then undertaken with the objective of learning about the participants' perceptions of their experience of the course. Analysis of the data collected clearly indicates that learning about history in the foreign language classroom is an adult learner need. In this article, learner-participants' comments on and descriptions of how they considered the discussions about history to have been beneficial to their language learning experience are examined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents a response to the article "The Theory Gap" by Ed White and Michael Drexler, published in this issue. The author reflects on White and Drexler's examination of the field of early American literary studies. He discusses the changing nature of the relationship between literature and history and discusses the gap between the scholarly attention given to history and that given to literary studies. The article also explores differences between literary studies of Americanists and the study of American history.

This article presents a response to the article "Early American Literature and American Literary History at the 'Hemispheric Turn'" by Ralph Bauer, published in this issue. The author argues that being postmodern does not make a scholar unfaithful to their origins. The author agrees that scholars need to rethink the orientation of American studies. Bauer's transnational approach to the hemisphere is addressed. The article also discusses the importance of shifting perspectives in American literary history studies.

The author discusses her teaching methods for an undergraduate interdisciplinary course on the history of African American women from pre-emancipation through to the Harlem Renaissance. Using the short story "The Wife of His Youth" by Charles W. Chesnutt (1858-1932), she considers the effects of Reconstruction of African American families and marriages. Other subjects considered include the North Carolina decision of Justice Thomas Ruffin (1787-1870) in State v. Mann regarding the legal status of slaves, the book "Incidents on the Life of a Slave Girl," by Harriet Jacobs (1813-1897), and state legal archives with marriage certificates of Freedmen issued during Reconstruction.

Understanding world history is critical for our development as citizens in our interconnected society. Yet it is not clear that the standards for world history courses in the U.S. foster understanding of the whole world or of its history. The authors argue that the high school world history standards mapped out by various states promulgate a Eurocentric orientation, particularly in the treatment of events before 1945. Moreover, even when they purport to use a global approach, state world history standards do little to implement a vision of world history that emphasizes global connections, cross-cultural interactions, world-systems, or the commonality of human experience. Examining the topics listed as important to know in U.S. state high school world history standards and the organization of these standards, the researchers found that although several state standards have been influenced by the thematic or chronological approaches advocated by world historians, with two exceptions, state standards conceptualize world history through a "western" rather than global lens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on monuments and memorials as valuable resources of historical information for students in the U.S. It states that monuments can be used by social studies teachers to develop learning historical experiences for students. It suggests an activity outside the classroom that teachers can use to help students deepen their understanding on historical monuments. It states that participation of students in field trips may inculcate lifelong learning of history.

The article discusses an alternative approach to teaching the traditional history survey to future history teachers. The author states that history teachers must understand how historians frame historical problems, select and organize factual details, and construct historical stories. The author talks about a course he designed for future history teachers at the University of Northern Colorado. The course is entitled "Advanced Overview of American History." The article also discusses approaches to teaching World War II.

The article discusses how to improve secondary school instruction by expressing the importance of historiography to prospective teachers. The author argues that high-school history courses are fact-centered and do not promote an understanding of history as a discipline. The Content Specialty Test in New York is mentioned and the author argues that the test does not measure a person's ability to apply key historical concepts. The author also details several assignments she gives to her students including one in which she allows her students to use only archival primary sources.

The article discusses teaching of the historical significance of the Magna Carta, a 13th century English charter, and other medieval topics in U.S. schools. The author states that medieval studies are often marginalized in the school curriculum. The author looks at the historical significance of the Magna Carta by looking at its related chronology, context, causation, and contingency. The article examines what makes something historically significant. The article also looks at late 20th and early 21st-century historical literature on the Magna Carta as well as the High Middle Ages.

The article discusses the modeling of pedagogical techniques within a secondary history class. The author argues that while teaching history in a way that students find meaningful, adding advice about pedagogical techniques during class is both possible and desirable. The author talks about the benefits of metacognitive discussion in a classroom. The problems associated with periodization in history are talked about. Subjects of the article also include selecting topics for a syllabus, expectations of the state education department, and managing the behaviors of teenage students.

The article discusses the teaching of the Magna Carta, a 13th century English charter, in the U.S. history curriculum. The author states that the Magna Carta and other similar works can be used to express the importance of history in American schools. The author argues that the Magna Carta greatly influenced the fight for liberty in the U.S. while the country was a British colony. The importance of land ownership and land laws in the early days of America are detailed. The article also discusses how former U.S. President Thomas Jefferson affirmed a secular justification of colonial land claims.

This study evaluates how well the authors of Wikipedia history articles adhere to the site's policy of assuring verifiability through citations. It does so by examining the references and citations of a subset of country histories. The findings paint a dismal picture. Not only are many claims not verified through citations, those that are suffer from the choice of references used. Many of these are from only a few US government Websites or news media and few are to academic journal material. Given these results, one response would be to declare Wikipedia unsuitable for serious reference work. But another option emerges when we jettison technological determinism and look at Wikipedia as a product of a wider social context. Key to this context is a world in which information is bottled up as commodities requiring payment for access. Equally important is the problematic assumption that texts are undifferentiated bearers of knowledge. Those involved in instructional programs can draw attention to the social nature of texts to counter these assumptions and by so doing create an awareness for a new generation of Wikipedians and Wikipedia users of the need to evaluate texts (and hence citations) in light of the social context of their production and use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores the implications for creating a U.S. history narrative from a Rortyan perspective. First, we review Rorty's social theory. Second, we discuss implications of his ideas regarding the creation of a U.S. history narrative based upon his ideas. Finally, we examine two concerns that would likely emerge if a Rortyan U.S. history curriculum were taught in our public schools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's personal reflections on his experiences teaching U.S. history at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon in 2009. Details are given describing premise and central themes of his course "Introduction to American Studies," highlighting questions regarding the students' perceptions of what "America" was. Discussion is particularly given noting the influence of the U.S. military presence in the area with the Iraq War and the War on Terror. Additional subjects discussed include the benefits and pitfalls of comparisons between U.S. history and other nations' histories, encountering and critically examining American cultural mythology, and the centrality of ideology in the understanding of history.

The article offers the author's insights on the study of facts about China in the U.S. classrooms. The author relates his experience of teaching in American classrooms where he encountered questions from children concerning China, which reminds him of the way he felt when he visited Fuling, China to teach college English majors. He discusses the changes and developments in China in the past years that led the country to where it is in the present time.

In a world where students and the general public are likely to access historical information from a television program, film, or even video game, it is important to equip students with the ability to view historical representation critically. In this essay we present arguments for using film to engage students in rigorous and authentic social studies pedagogy and support these arguments with data and examples from our research over the past ten years. Our goal is not to promote film as the ultimate classroom source or as a replacement for a teacher, but to highlight how effective the use of film can be in engaging students in authentic intellectual work with important content and issues. If we have learned anything from our research on using film to teach about the past, it is that it is important to have a clear purpose for selecting a film, both justifying the use of time and presenting the perspective that the teacher wants to portray. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Assuming that the perceived history of a conflict shapes the potential for peace, this study examined the representation of the Israeli-Arab conflict in eight widely used U.S. high school history textbooks. The analysis focused on two issues that are crucial to the understanding of the conflict: (a) the creation of the 1948 Palestinian refugee problem and (b) the status of the sizeable minority of Arab citizens within Israel. The results indicate that, although several of the textbooks do represent—to some extent—a complex and multifaceted account of the creation of the 1948 Palestinian refugee problem, the existence of Arabs in Israel and their problematic status as a national minority are, in many cases, not clearly described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines US Korean youth's perspectives on US history and the impact of their sociocultural backgrounds, particularly their migration status, on their historical interpretations. Based on in-depth interviews with 42 US Korean high school students, the study opens up the question of diversity within an ethnic group, while it also begins to address both the lack of research on Asian American students' historical perspectives and the relative inattention to global migration patterns as a key factor in students' historical understandings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teaching national history in school generates significant public anxiety and political debate—as the various 'history wars' around the world reveal. For many school students, however, studying their nation's past is dull and repetitive. Such lack of interest has been confirmed by surveys and research reports that reveal alarmingly low levels of national historical knowledge among young people, and there is growing popular concern that their ignorance of the past endangers the nation's future. Yet preoccupation with students' apparent national illiteracy tends to overlook how they connect with history in the first place. This paper draws on findings from a comparative Australian and Canadian research project that interviewed students and teachers about the ways they learned and taught history. It argues that any return to 'the facts' at the expense of critical historical engagement in class could turn students away from the subject. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

My purpose here is to share several thoughts with you. I will explore the concept of marginalization, and explain why I believe it applies very appropriately to the field of teacher education and our own organization. I will emphasize the importance of knowing our history, and ask why it is that history is not a more central part of teacher education. To start things off, I will provide a brief history of the California Council on Teacher Education, which I will argue is a prime example of marginalization. With that notion in place, I will seek to show how our history mirrors many of the broader patterns of the history of American education, an equally appropriate portrayal of marginalization. In these ways, hopefully, what I have to say will illuminate who we are, how we got here, and how we fit, or don't fit, in the big picture. With those problematics in place, I will then share what I believe is a critical recognition of a central problem of our marginalization and what we must try to do about it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the absence of Dutch legacy on U.S. history textbooks, curriculum, and history classes in the U.S. It notes that there is almost no mention of the Dutch influence in early 17th century America outside New York State history classes. A survey of 100 high school students answers that Spain, England, and France are the settlers of North America in 17th and 18th centuries. Moreover, the teacher mentions that there is no more room in their curriculum cup to include the Dutch.

The article brings together the fields of curriculum studies, history of education, and ethnic studies to chart a transnational history of race, empire, and curriculum. Drawing from a larger study on the history of education in the Philippines under U.S. rule in the early 1900s, it argues that race played a pivotal role in the discursive construction of Filipino/as and that the schooling for African Americans in the U.S. South served as the prevailing template for colonial pedagogy in the archipelago. It employs Michel Foucault's concept of archaeology to trace the racial grammar in popular and official representations, especially in the depiction of colonized Filipino/as as racially Black, and to illustrate its material effects on educational policy and curriculum. The tension between academic and manual-industrial instruction became a site of convergence for Filipino/as and African Americans, with decided implications for the lived trajectories in stratified racialized and colonized communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the author's insights on the use of sports as an alternative approach in teaching the political, social, and cultural history of Middle East in American universities and colleges. The author says that students at American colleges can be served best not only by stressing the standard issues but also by the common interest of the students in America and the people in Middle East. The author explores the reason why sport and society courses, or history of sports, became common in American colleges. The author believes that one reason why it became popular is that the hobby of Americans is watching college and professional athletics. Moreover, the author believes that sport can clarify many significant issues in the 20th century history of Middle East to students.

An essay is presented discussing the nature of southern history studies as a field defined by social, cultural, and political dynamics rather than a geography limited to the Southern U.S. States. It is argued that conceptions of the South and its history should not be separated from the rest of the country and that issues such as slavery were embedded in the governing structure of the nation. The prominent positions southern historians have held in the Organization of American Historians is examined.

This study examines nine secondary American history textbooks' treatment of 9/11 and related events. Through the use of content analysis, the study centers on the knowledge omitted from textbook portrayals of 9/11. Findings indicate that when authors omit particular information, these exclusions limit the perspectives that students can consider, which shapes understandings of American history and the world. Recommendations are provided for ways teachers can develop students' critical thinking, provide them with multiple perspectives, and increase their historical understandings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2004, an upper Midwestern school district received a grant to administer content-specific professional development to teachers of American history. A series of nine master's level, degree-eligible courses were developed and administered by the local university's history department. At the conclusion of the grant activities in spring of 2008, the teacher-participants were invited to be interviewed. The purpose of the interviews was to determine teacher motivation for taking the courses and each teacher's overall impression of the effectiveness of the professors and course content. Additional data were gathered including demographic data such as years of experience and level of education for each of the history teachers and interviews with the history professors. One unique theme that emerged from the data was the expectation of specialized treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Social Studies course aims not only the socialization of children but also providing them with some vital skills. And it is obvious that such aim can not be achieved only via the transfer of information and values. Taking as basis the USA practice, Social Studies course was started to be taught in primary schools of Turkey in place of history and geography courses in 1968. However, social studies course was based on the heavy transfer of information and values rather than provision of skills until 2005. In this context, as history was taught in a way that was irrelevant with the daily life of children, rote learning turned into an inseparable part of this course. By means of 2005 Social Studies curriculum, textbook-based teaching was replaced by activity-based teaching. The objectives of history course were reviewed and a history teaching approach aimed at providing vital skill was adopted. New curriculum presents a history course that teaches history by taking into consideration the factors such as children and their interests, parents and neighbourhood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An essay is presented which explores U.S. church history and the secularization of history studies in the twentieth century. In this article, the author discusses aspects of his religious upbringing in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and his religious-based studies at Haverford College, Yale University, and Westminster Theological Seminary. He is critical of historical research trends that seek to deny or ignore the fact that religious beliefs helped to shape American culture and character.

By identifying two general issues in recent history textbook controversies worldwide (oblivion and inclusion), this article examines understandings of the United States in Mexico's history textbooks (especially those of 1992) as a means to test the limits of historical imagining between U. S. and Mexican historiographies. Drawing lessons from recent European and Indian historiographical debates, the article argues that many of the historical clashes between the nationalist historiographies of Mexico and the United States could be taught as series of unsolved enigmas, ironies, and contradictions in the midst of a central enigma: the persistence of two nationalist historiographies incapable of contemplating their common ground. The article maintains that lo mexicano has been a constant part of the past and present of the US, and lo gringo an intrinsic component of Mexico's history. The di erences in their historical tracks have been made into monumental ontological oppositions, which are in fact two tracks-often overlapping-of the same and shared con ictual and complex experience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes the Bringing History Home (BHH) curriculum and examines how the curriculum's design was informed by, and aligns with theory and research in history education in the U.S. The curriculum is taught in the elementary level in the U.S. Its original goals for student learning were motivated by and aligned with the research, but have evolved to include the development of construct historical understandings. It notes that the curriculum consist of two instructional units per grade level, and the lessons focus on trade book, historic images, documents and statistics, along with activities engaging students in analyzing and synthesizing the information sources.

This article traces the history of the expanding communities approach, the leading organizational structure for elementary social studies education since the 1930s. Since its introduction into the curriculum, educators have argued about the approach's effectiveness and suitability. Critics claim it lacks intellectual rigor and is redundant in that it repeats what children already know. Defenders argue that its relevancy to children's lives helps them better understand their world. Yet typically neither critics nor defenders demonstrate an understanding of the approach's deep roots in U.S. education. Long before its adoption as the dominant approach in elementary social studies, educators used it in history, civics, literature, and geography lessons. This article focuses on the approach's successful implementation in nineteenth-century geography curricula and shows that it is possible to teach rigorous geographical content and processes while using this method. The author recommends recommends that contemporary educators consider examples of how the approach was successfully used in the past. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the Collect-Relate-Create-Donate (CRCD) framework of Ben Shneiderman which forms the development of a multi-day investigation to social history of a homeless teenager in the Great Depression in the U.S. It notes that History teacher Tom Daccord use the framework to establish a project with technologies for students to explore the political, economic and social history of Great Depression. Moreover, the project "Day in the Life of a Teenage Hobo" of Daccord makes students research on historical teenage hoboes.

The article features the collaboration of REED-LO, web 2.0 technology to scaffold inquiry and interpretation, and Web-based Art Interactive Tool (WAIT) for students to engage with works of art in the U.S. The web tool is designed for students to access art and serves as feedback loop for art interpretations. It notes that the acronym of REED-LO represents the steps for students to interpret art with Reacting as the first step, Embracing, Exploring, Deciphering, and the Locating its historical context which concludes by forming Opinion. It infers that through WAIT, students realize that thoughts on art helps to make meaningful evidential accounts to the past such as the culture and era of artists.

The article highlights the study which uses online discussion forums to promote the historical inquiry skills of students in the U.S. The study involves students of International Baccalaureate History of the Americas course and used 10 themes in the archive discussion. Moreover, the topics are divided into transfer of knowledge and engagement in class content. It reveals that using online discussion can promote student reasoning and decision making before posting to the forums. It notes that online forums facilitated the process of discussion by offering wide variety of topic threads for the students to work on.

Study provides qualitative analysis of data that answers the following research question: how college science faculty teach science and NOS and incorporate aspects of NOS and the history of science into their undergraduate courses? Study concentrates on four cases and more specifically on three introductory science classes and on four instructors who taught those courses. These instructors were chosen as case studies to explore in greater detail what occurs inside introductory science courses in one particular higher institution in the Northeastern United States. Participants’ teaching styles are presented through a combined and detailed presentation of interview data and classroom observations supported with examples from their classroom activities. Constant comparative approach was used in the process of organizing and analyzing data. Findings revealed that participants preferred to use the traditional teacher-centered lecturing as their teaching style and whose main concern was to cover more content, develop the problem solving skills of their students, and who wanted to teach the fundamental principles of their subjects without paying special importance to the NOS aspects. The study also revealed that other variables of teaching science, such as large class size, lack of management and organizational skills, teaching experience, and instructors’ concerns for students’ abilities and motivation are more important for these scientists then teaching for understanding of NOS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the elimination of the labor movement as a part of education curriculum of history in schools across the U.S. On the basis of content analysis of commonly used textbooks, it has been found that the role of the labor movement in the U.S. history and culture is minimized and out of context. Students learn only about the Industrial Revolution and the Great Depression from their textbooks. Moreover, the discussion of labor and class issues is nonexistent in other disciplines, such as English and Economics. However, some educators and unionists have developed some approaches for teaching about the American labor movement, including the labor's struggle for economic and social justice.

Increasingly, high school classrooms have access to the Internet. The Avalon Project Internet webpage enables high school students to access primary sources on a variety of American History topics. Literacy strategies are a promising method to help students organize the information they access when they are reading primary sources online. In particular, graphic organizers help students to make sense out of complex issues presented in primary sources. The author describes how his high school history students used the Avalon Project Internet webpage and graphic organizers to comprehend the primary sources with which they were working. Suggestions are given to help history teachers implement this activity in the classroom. Background information on literacy strategies is provided with specific examples of graphic organizers to help guide teachers who are interested in utilizing the strategy with their students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers' understandings of content affect their abilities to develop creative instructional strategies for learning. The authors investigated understandings of United States history among a convenience sample of pre-service and in-service teachers enrolled in social studies methods and multicultural education courses at two institutions of higher learning. They employed a 30-item survey concerning events and topics from all 10 United States historical eras, involving both conventional and revisionist interpretations. The authors found very low percentages of correct responses. Respondents taking more history courses generally answered more items correctly. White students answered more revisionist items correctly than underrepresented students. The findings are generally consistent with previous interpretations of preservice and in-service teachers' United States history understandings. The authors provide suggestions for teacher preparation and future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article responds to the preceding article by David A. Hollinger on the study of American Jewish history, and why it has been overlooked withing the larger field of U.S. history. Hollinger's concepts of the "communalist" and "dispersionist" approaches to American Jewish history are discussed, and his assertion that American Jewish historians have been overly communalist, or concerned primarily with self-consciously Jewish people and organizations, is critiqued. Also discussed are the concepts of multiculturalism and Jewish identity in the United States.

The article responds to a preceding article by David A. Hollinger on the study of American Jewish history and its place in the larger field of U.S. history. Hollinger's concepts of "communalist" and "dispersionist" approaches to American Jewish history are reviewed, and the atmosphere of antisemitism that remained in American academia in the 1950s and 1960s is discussed, including the prejudice faced by Jewish graduate students and professors. The author then relates his own experiences as a Jewish historian.

The article discusses how to define American Jewish history, and how it relates to the larger field of U.S. history. Two approaches to American Jewish history are defined: the "communalist" approach emphasizes Jewish organizations and institutions and the activities of people with an active Jewish identity, while the "dispersionist" approach studies the lives of members of the Jewish diaspora independently of their personal involvement with Judaism or "Jewishness." Also discussed is the concept of "post-Jewishness," and the related "postethnic" concept.

The article, concluding a forum on the study of American Jewish history and its place in the larger field of U.S. history, responds to preceding articles by Hasia Diner, Paula Hyman, Alan Kraut, and Tony Michels on the author's first article. Topics addressed include: the development of Jewish studies in the United States; the author's concepts of "communalist" and "dispersionist" approaches to American Jewish history; American Jewish feminism; antisemitism in postwar American academia; post-Jewish and, more broadly, "postethnic" culture; and others.

The article responds to a preceding essay by Thomas W. Zeiler on the state of U.S. diplomatic history as a field, and its re-entry into the mainstream of historical study through an increased focus on international history, or the study of the United States in the global context. The author takes issue with Zeiler's wish to retain the state and state power as topics of central relevance for the study of diplomatic history; she argues that power and the state have never been a focus only of diplomatic history, and that furthermore, foreign relations scholarship has explored important areas not shaped by state power.

The article responds to a preceding essay by Thomas W. Zeiler on the state of U.S. diplomatic history as a field, and its re-entry into the mainstream of historical study through an increased focus on international history, or the study of the United States in the global context. The author takes issue with Zeiler's focus on the centrality of the state and state power, and with the idea that diplomatic historians have led their own field back to the mainstream. She argues that in many ways they were pushed by other subdisciplines, such as ethnic, postcolonial, borderlands, transnational, and world history.

The article responds to a preceding essay by Thomas W. Zeiler on the state of U.S. diplomatic history as a field, and its re-entry into the mainstream of historical study through an increased focus on international history, or the study of the United States in the global context. The author finds Zeiler overly optimistic about these developments and discusses three potential risks that they raise: the return of a belief in American exceptionalism among U.S. diplomatic historians; methodological difficulties raised by trends in transnational research; and related difficulties in producing genuine historical syntheses.

The article responds to the preceding essay by Thomas W. Zeiler on the state of U.S. diplomatic history as a field, and its re-entry into the mainstream of historical study through an increased focus on international history, or the study of the United States in the global context. The author argues for not allowing the field to go out of balance in the opposite direction, through too much focus on international politics at the expense of U.S. domestic affairs. He argues for the importance of U.S. policy and politics, using the history of the Vietnam War as an example.