Meaning Over Memory: Recasting the Teaching of Culture and History (1st edition.)

In the midst of the heated battles swirling around American humanities education, Peter Stearns offers a reconsideration not of what we teach but of why and how we teach it.

A humanities program, says Stearns, should teach students not just memorized facts but analytical skills that are vital for a critically informed citizenry.

He urges the use of innovative research as the basis of such a curriculum, and he offers specific suggestions on translating curriculum goals into courses that can be taught alongside or instead of the more conventional staples.