History Education and the Truth Problem

With misinformation and distorted versions of the past gaining dangerous traction worldwide, it is crucial that students and adults can discern between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ history and make accurate and well-founded judgements on contemporary issues and problems. This timely book explores the concept of truth in the discipline of history and argues that history education must evolve to combat the post-truth crisis. The book examines how recent changes in society and in technology have had a disruptive influence on both the writing of history and on its consumption and use and the consequences of this for the health and vitality of societies worldwide. It considers how history education might address the truth problem more effectively, so students understand how knowledge is constructed, questioned and deployed and can make intelligent and rational decisions about what to believe both about the past and the present. Offering innovative approaches for adapting history education for our technological age, this book is essential reading for history educators, historians and all those who are interested in history and concerned about the slide into a post-truth world.