![]() The teaching of American history, Takaki believes, should foster "a more inclusive view of who we are as Americans" and should enable "different groups" within "this place called the United States of America" to "learn about one another" so that "we can get along." Fredrickson argues that by studying American history "our students" will be able to answer questions about "their ethnic identities" and thus help these students with a perspective on how "our past" manages "to combine cultural diversity with a consensus on underlying national traditional values." With any luck, "our students" will be able to become "aware that their ancestors suffered from injustices-or perpetrated them." ![]() I counted well over a dozen references to "we" or "us" or "our" in Ronald Takaki's essay and noted that both George Fredrickson and Robert Fullinwider accept Takaki's implicit assumption that the only consumers of American history will be present-day residents of the United States. For people concerned with making the teaching of American history more inclusive, each used extremely exclusionary language. ![]() I read with interest the exchange between Ronald Takaki, George Fredrickson, and Robert Fullinwider in the October issue of Perspectives. ![]()
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