Public Affairs Conference 2023 - Mapping the Historical Narratives of the American People: What is National Identity?

The history of the United States is complex and vast, spread across continents, cultures, and centuries. It is one story comprised of numerous other stories and can be viewed differently from various perspectives.  In recent years, tension between the many narrative perspectives on American history have created a political battlefield fought largely in our schools, yet another theater for the culture wars. Americans have struggled over questions of history and public memory for more than a century. Is it desirable or even possible to blend these narratives into one national identity that represents a shared core of who we all are as Americans?  What do competing historical narratives reveal about our complicated past, and how can an “American” voice incorporate an increasingly diverse population?

Free