Democratic Patriotism and Multicultural Education

Abstract

Debate about multicultural education in the USA has been marked by anxieties about the stability of a nation that is both increasingly culturally diverse and increasingly resistant to coercive assimilative practices. A politically and morally persuasive multiculturalism must seek to dispel rather than evade these anxieties. One educational venue in which they must be addressed is history teaching. The possibility of cultivating democratic patriotism in the teaching of a genuinely multicultural American history is discussed.

Forgetting, I would even go so far as to say historical error, is a crucial factor in the creation of a nation, which is why progress in historical studies often creates a danger for nationality. Indeed, historical insight brings to light deeds of violence which took place at the origin of all political formations…. Unity is always effected by means of brutality.

Ernst Renan ([1882] 1992)

Our memories may now be undermining our ability to progress as a people

Joseph Tilden Rhea (1997)

An earlier draft of this paper was delivered as the 2001 Francis Villemain lecture in the College of Education at San Jose State University. I am extremely grateful to the faculty in the College of Education, and especially to Michael Katz and Patricia Villemain, for their warm hospitality and stimulating conversation on that occasion. Tom Ehrlich also helped me to avoid some blunders.