The Stories of Great Men: Historical Agency in Evangelical Christian American History Textbooks

• In Event: Fairmont Roundtable Session Twelve
  In Roundtable Session: Historical Inquiry Through Literacy Practices (Table 18)

Abstract

Historical figures in textbooks who have the ability to take action and influence who students believe are worthy or unworthy of telling their story. This study, part of a larger study of the treatment of important historical eras in four Evangelical Christian American history textbooks, problematizes the concept of historical agency in the Progressive Era as emblematic of the textual discourses that shape historical narratives by the students who use these texts. Using grounded theory, the authors identified important patterns of prioritizing “great men”. Our findings demonstrate that positioning historical narratives vis-a-vis “great men” make it possible for the texts to present a moralistic judgment of actions by these powerful actors, particularly in a paternalistic vision of historical agency.

Authors

• Anne Aydinian Perry, University of Wyoming
  Presenting Author

• Dean P. Vesperman, University of Wisconsin - River Falls
  Presenting Author

• Matthew Missias, Grand Valley State University
  Presenting Author

• Whitney G. Blankenship, San Antonio College
  Presenting Author