History, memory, and myth: Children's literature and classroom conceptions of the past

Since the 1980s, children's novels have become an important means of teaching history. What does infusing the school curriculum with historical novels mean for young people's understanding of the past? This dissertation analyzes the reasons behind and implications of teaching history through children's literature. Historical fiction was initially attractive for its ability to serve the whole language/authentic literature movement while simultaneously responding to Civil Rights-inspired calls for revision of triumphal textbook narratives that celebrate the rise of the nation state, often to the exclusion of women and minorities. The historical fiction penned in response to the democratic movements of the 1960s-70s, however, became entangled in the very culture wars spawning their creation. Those novels ultimately gaining greatest favor managed to bridge the culture war divide by embracing traditional social and cultural values even as they presented "multicultural" characters and themes.; Analysis of novels currently taught in schools provides insight into popular understandings of history, and to the values deemed central to American citizenship in today's classrooms. Equally important, analysis of widely-taught novels draws attention to the historical paradigms embedded in their narratives and highlights the need for educators' awareness of them. Given that many historical novels are structured by paradigms now considered outdated and objectionable, the classic works of historical fiction demand the use of innovative teaching techniques that draw attention to the craft of history while simultaneously providing students with a rich literary experience. This thesis offers a model for doing that.; In exploring the political and moral nature of narrative, this dissertation interrogates the disparity between educators' goals and learners' experience as a result of teaching novels in which three time periods converge: the historical moment about which the author wrote, the historical moment during which the author wrote, and the historical moment in which the book is taught. Reexamining novels as multi-layered documents enables educators to enrich instruction by illustrating the relationship between history, myth, politics, and education. Knowledge about narrative construction empowers students---and citizens at large---to draw their own conclusions about the nation's past and the potential represented in its, and their, future.