Historical thinking, a term that encompasses a diverse set of definitions and competencies, calls on students to replicate the work and cognitive processes of historians by analyzing and interpreting evidence and making logical conclusions based on this evidence. Given this emphasis on discipline-specific skills, "sources" (especially…

When Lebanon gained its independence from France in 1943, it adopted a system that divided political power along clearly defined sectarian lines. The institutionalized sectarian nature of the country resulted in tensions that led to civil war in 1975. Lebanon quickly disintegrated into a number of irreconcilable cantons and seemed to be destined…

Historians of American foreign relations are continuing to expand the ways in which they approach the Cold War. The range of perspectives has evolved thanks to the influence of emerging fields and new emphases in history. The end of the Cold War revealed the many ways in which the conflict was a protracted global war. But it also brought a renewed…

Civilization's fountainhead, the Middle East, lies at the root of millenia of conflict. However, in no time more than its own has this discord been more clearly asseverated. By the end of the nineteenth century, a maelstrom of ideologies and territorial claims to sacred land had become a volatile mixture; the infusion of Jewish Zionism into…

This article reviews the historiography of the origins of World War I in light of Fritz Fischer's book which places responsibility for the war on German economic ambitions. (DE)

Surveyed is the recent historiography of the moral dimensions of war, revolution, slavery, and cultural decline, showing gaps that need to be filled and pointing to pioneering works of moral history written mostly by nonhistorians. The outline of a new moral history is sketched and implications for higher education suggested. (RM)

An analysis of various points of controversy that has surrounded A.J.P. Taylor's Origins of the Second World War (London, 1961), an interpretation of the history of the inter-war years which has assumed such significance as to deserve designation as the Taylor Thesis.'' (JB)

Maintains that history teachers must challenge simplistic romantic notions about war. Proposes two approaches to teaching about war: the use of personal war narratives; and examining the relationship between warfare and society. Discusses literature related to these approaches. Contends that only through realistic assessments of war can peace be…

Analyzes how Germans viewed defeat after the two world wars, and how these perceptions influenced subsequent political developments. Compares questions of guilt and responsibility following the two wars. Examines the growth of democracy, its defeat after World War I, and success after World War II. Discusses the influences of the occupation…