Reckoning with the Past

Margaret Eastman Smith is Assistant Professor in the School of International Service at American University.

• Chapter 1 Preface: Intervening in the Cycle of ConflictPart 2 The Broader PerspectiveChapter 3 Nationalism and History TeachingChapter 4 The Tenacious Hold of Historical MemoryPart 5 Northern IrelandChapter 6 A Brief History of the Northern Ireland ConflictChapter 7 Narratives, Explanations, and Intervention StrategiesChapter 8 Education in Ireland and Northern Ireland: 1537-1972Chapter 9 The Education System Responds to the TroublesPart 10 Partisan PrescriptionsChapter 11 Domination and EmpowermentPart 12 Cosmopolitan PrescriptionsChapter 13 History as ProcessChapter 14 The Common History Curriculum and its DiscontentsChapter 15 Fragmenting Rigid IdentificationsChapter 16 Education for CitizenshipPart 17 Neo-Pluralist PrescriptionsChapter 18 Parity of EsteemChapter 19 Frontier of Discovery

Margaret Smith is not stranger to Northern Ireland. Her field trips over many years bring a depth of insight and sensitivity to the controversies of history teaching in a divided society. Smith argues that partisan, cosmopolitan, and neo-pluralist approaches to history teaching fall short of the deeper engagement that is necessary as part of post-conflict peace building. She argues that a more active interculturalism will be required and her thesis is mirrored by the lack of progress in current political negotiations. Smith's book is a well-structured argument that the teaching of history in Northern Ireland can be part of the problem as well as part of the solution and her analysis has implications for the role of history teaching in other international conflicts.