Toward a Reflexive Civic Identity Approach to Understanding Students’ Learning of Difficult Histories

• In Event: Students' Histories and Experiences at the Center: Defining "Difficult" and Worthy Historical Investigations

Abstract

Existing research on students’ understanding of difficult histories has predominantly utilized psychoanalytic or social psychological approaches. Although these frameworks offer certain advantages, they also encounter analytical challenges and inherent limitations. Given the current political polarization and ongoing debates surrounding the U.S.’s difficult histories of race and racism, this proposal intends to tease out important elements within individuals’ civic identity and thus conceptualizes reflexive civic identity. This framework encompasses five key elements: a sense of connection to their communities, concerns about rights and responsibilities, perceptions of the ways of engagement, intended outcomes, and emotion. I also explain how analyzing these components contributes to investigating students’ understanding of difficult histories and how this framework helps to expand our research scope.

Author

• Yubing Liu, University of Wisconsin - Madison