Following His Will: The Reconstruction Era’s Divine Agency Told Through Evangelical Christian American History Textbooks

• In Event: Sunday Roundtable Session 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Designing Curriculum and Instruction Within Contested Histories and Policies (Table 13)

Abstract

Historical agency’s portrayal in textbooks influences how students interact with stories of the past and recognize its impact on the present. This study, as part of a larger study investigating the treatment of important historical eras in four Evangelical American history textbooks, specifically problematizes historical agency during the Reconstruction Era. Using grounded theory, the authors identified patterns of agency and developed axial codes. The codes were used in analyzing the Reconstruction Era. Findings revealed the theme of Divine Agency as the driver behind historical figures’ agency during Reconstruction. A second theme emerged centered on students using a biblical framework to make moral judgements regarding the agency of historical figures. These findings differ from previous research conducted by the authors (2023).

Authors

• Anne Aydinian Aydinian Perry, University of Wyoming

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

• Whitney G. Blankenship, San Antonio College

• Matthew Missias, Grand Valley State University