Since 1992, the annual Textbooks and Teaching section has sought to bring questions of teaching into the pages of the JAH. Originally designed to review the treatment of different historical fields and topics in American history textbooks, the section has in recent years focused more often on teaching practices, methods, and resources. In the words of former contributing editors Peter Filene and Peter Wood, the Textbooks and Teaching section aims “to provide a site where teachers exchange exciting ideas about how they convey history to their audiences inside classrooms as well as beyond.”
Recent Textbooks and Teaching sections have explored the pedagogy and content of the US history survey, the uses of digital technology in teaching US history, the role of the “scholarship of teaching and learning” for studying our own teaching practices, and the historical skills and preconceptions of entering college students.
The Textbooks and Teaching section appears in the March issue of the JAH. The focus of the section is determined roughly one year prior to publication. Essays generally run 10-20 pages in length (double-spaced) and follow the same guidelines of format and citation as JAH articles. The section is also made freely available online along with additional resources and syallbi.
Laura Westhoff, Chair of the History Department at the University of Missouri St Louis, and Robert D. Johnston, Professor of History and Director of the Teaching of History Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago are the contributing editors for the “Textbooks and Teaching” section. They welcome suggestions for annual themes, manuscripts related to the teaching of U.S. history, and proposals for submissions. Unsolicited manuscripts are reviewed with an eye toward whether they might fit within upcoming sections or help shape potential future themes. Professor Westhoff may be reached at [email protected]. Professor Johnston may be reached at [email protected]