In 2024 it seems that words such as “republic” and “democracy” have become catchphrases and memes in our raging culture wars, losing historical meaning and failing to inspire patriotism or love of country - whatever that means.

Many scholars and pundits point to our loss of a common narrative, but we propose examining this issue through the lens of the places where Americans learn history through the lens of citizenship. With the culture wars consuming American politics and everything becoming political it feels as if America has been “unraveling” since the sixties, and we have not been able to put the pieces back together. Even more so since we as a society have retreated into our corners of the internet losing the ability to communicate, much less acknowledge a shared history. History and civics, it seems, are in crisis. Headlines from the Nation’s Report Card on civics to the many, many podcasts and YouTube channels promoting history that your teaching hid from you all seem to converge on the idea that history education is not working. As a result, Americans love history but are bored with history classes and our republican experiment is in peril.

As we begin the second quarter of the 21st century, history and civics face serious challenges. How do Americans learn their history? Is a shared historical knowledge necessary for a democratic citizenry? What role do historians, educators, and professionals play in deciding what role history plays in our political lives?

We propose a roundtable session that will address history and civics education from a number of perspectives with the idea of promoting a discussion about what the future might hold. We all know that history is declining in education at almost every level. At the same time, popular history is on the rise. Neither of these is a new occurrence.

Peter Wong, an experienced public historian and educator, will examine the ways in which the National Park Service encourages visitors to reflect upon immigration history. Paul Boone will give us an overview of teachers and education being in the cross hairs during the Cold War and what that might mean for today. Penny Messinger will look at the role of civics in higher education in the context of the crisis of the humanities and trends in higher education. Colleen Fitzpatrick examines the current state of history and civics education as teachers navigate local expectations and trends in teaching, especially towards more project-based assignments. Finally, we will open the session to discussion of the future of civics and the role history might play in it.