Why do we teach history? History isn’t like chemistry or calculus — it doesn’t
teach just one particular body of knowledge. Instead, history is inherently
abstract and interdisciplinary. As a discipline, it must prepare future
generations for the vast and unpredictable political, social and economic
questions they will eventually have to face. That’s a pretty tall order, so we
might naturally expect history classes in the United States to be filled with
ingenious educational devices aimed at hel