A Discussion through the Lens of History

Join the Charlotte Ideas Festival for a panel discussion on the teaching of history at the Bechtler Museum of Modern Art.

What history should be taught in our schools today? How do we balance a more optimistic and idealistic view of the American experiment with a more sobering examination of America’s past? Is the teaching of American history sanitized or becoming defined by the worst of our past? Are current trends in the teaching of American history leading to disillusionment and a decline in citizen engagement? What is the narrative behind the events we choose to teach? What's at stake?

Be a part of this timely and vital conversation with our panelists:

Karen L. Cox is a Professor of History at UNC Charlotte and Distinguished Lecturer for the Organization of American Historians. She is the author of four books on southern history and has written numerous essays and articles, including an essay for the New York Times best seller Myth America: Historians Take on the Biggest Legends and Lies About Our Past.

Alan Vitale teaches all levels of high school history (AP, honors, regular) at Northwest School of the Arts in Charlotte. He is head of all AP History teachers in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools system, 3-time Teacher of the Year, Claes Nobel Educator of the Year Finalist, and a World Council Fellow. Alan earned a B.A. in international relations and economics at UNC Chapel Hill.

Kevin Gannon is Professor of History at Queens University of Charlotte. Kevin’s teaching, research, writing, and public work centers on critical and inclusive pedagogy; race, history, and justice. Kevin is the author of Radical Hope: A Teaching Manifesto, and he’s currently writing a textbook for the US Civil War and Reconstruction era. In 2016, Kevin appeared in the Oscar-nominated documentary 13th, directed by Ava DuVernay.

Hilary Green is Professor of Africana Studies at Davidson College. Her work explores the intersections of race, class, and gender in pre-1920 African American history, Reconstruction Studies, and Civil War Memory. Hilary is the author of Educational Reconstruction: African American Schools in the Urban South, 1865-1890, and she’s currently writing her second book with a focus on how African Americans remembered and commemorated the American Civil War and its legacy.