Author Discusses Historical Fiction Found in History Textbooks
Bestselling author Dr. James Loewen will discuss ideas and facts in U.S. history often believed to be true but which are, in fact, false Thursday, March 3 at 6 p.m. in Krinovitz Recital Hall, Hawkins Hall.
Loewen, a sociologist who spent two years at the Smithsonian surveying 12 leading high school textbooks of American history, is the author of “Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your High School History Textbook Got Wrong,” and “Lies Across America: What Our Historic Sites Get Wrong.”
“Our history, as it is taught in high schools across the country, is usually ‘white history’ rather than ‘U.S. history,’” Loewen said. At his talk, Loewen will show how this history that is taken for granted to be true “often turns out not to be true.” In the process, he offers some ways to rethink the past so it becomes more interesting as well as accurate.
Loewen earned his Ph.D. in sociology from Harvard University and taught race relations for 20 years at the University of Vermont.
The talk is free and open to the public.