American Empire as an Open Question: Civilizing Rhetorics of Empire in American Instructional Resources

There is a long tradition of empire denialism in the United States, and little extant research on the teaching of American imperialism in K-12 education. This presentation explores the subject in two common types of educational materials: textbooks and online Open Educational Resources. Our findings indicate three trends. First, American imperialism is often unacknowledged, as instructional materials more commonly deploy euphemisms such as ‘expansionism.’ Second, when acknowledged, educational materials utilize civilizing tropes which justify American imperial conquest. Thirdly, new inquiry-based strategies often treat imperialism as an ‘open question’ for student debate, which marginalize considerations of Indigenous agency and sovereignty.