Cameron McCarthy

In the following viewpoint, Cameron McCarthy argues that minority histories and cultural diversity should be essential elements in school texts and curricula. Today’s commonly used textbooks generally neglect alternative minority and female perspectives and offer superficial coverage of complex historical events, McCarthy contends. If teachers are to provide a comprehensive, liberating, and egalitarian education, coursework and school texts must be informed by multiculturalism, the author concludes. McCarthy is the author of The Uses of Culture, from which this viewpoint is excerpted.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. What prompted the rise of multicultural education, according to McCarthy"

2. In McCarthy’s view, what are the limitations of textbooks that offer “compensatory” and “contribution” histories"

3. How does the presentation of slavery in the history textbook America: Past and Present...