Howard Zinn: Historian/Teacher as Citizen

International Journal of Social Education. Ball State University, Department of History, Muncie, IN 47306. Tel: 765-285-8700; Fax: 765-285-5612; Web site: http://ijse.iweb.bsu.edu/

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Historians; Biographies; College Faculty; Scholarship; United States History; Citizenship; Citizen Participation; Citizen Role; Citizenship Responsibility; Activism; Dissent; Political Attitudes; Civil Disobedience; Historical Interpretation; Historiography; History Instruction; Educational History; Politics of Education; Black Colleges; Social Studies; Educational Philosophy; Ethnocentrism

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Few scholars have achieved the level of recognition and respect among the wider public as Howard Zinn. This should not come as a surprise, given the "unconventional" ways that Zinn embodied and enacted his scholarship. He often took his teaching and writing into those seemingly restricted spaces of popular protest, converting words into protagonist deeds. The title of this essay is a modification of one of Zinn's own, "Historian as Citizen," which was published in the Sunday book review section of the "New York Times," September 25, 1966. In it, Zinn reflected on his two lives, "as historian, as activist," that began when he assumed a professorship in 1956 at Spelman, the historically Black women's college located in the South. While there are many lessons to be had from Zinn's work and legacy, it was his focus on making history transformative that should inspire educators and cultural workers. In this article, the author talks about Howard Zinn's legacy as citizen and/or activist.

As Provided

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2012

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