1

Mya Brown

Clairice Brown

RC 2001-122

30 November 2021

Discourse Analysis
History and education go hand in hand. In both fields, there is always much learning to

be done by both experts and students. Those in the field of history and social studies are

constantly publishing new research, findings on recent topics, and other resources to be used

and explored by educators. History educators often rely on historians or similar academics to

use their various types of works to expand their knowledge, create a diverse environment, and

facilitate learning.

Vocabulary is one of the most important aspects of both history and education.

Historians do their best to keep up with the times by updating vocabulary terms that are out of

date or may be considered offensive in the modern times. Scholars also work hard to create the

best definition of certain terms, like “disadvantaged groups”, so that educators can best

understand what it means and pass it down to students.1 Most of the writing for both the fields

of history and education is written for the university level, making it a bit dense and hard to

understand at times. Educators that went to university will have an easier time understanding

the texts, and can translate for colleagues and for students if necessary.

1 Okumus, Osman. “History Education for Disadvantaged Groups in Theory and in Practice.” International
Online Journal of Education & Teaching 8, no. 2 (April 2021): 1291–1311.
 2

A major part of the field of history is the collection and publication of knowledge. How

research is published varies on the author, subject matter, and content. Waxman’s,

Ambramson’s, and De La Garza’s magazine article, “Past Tense” talks about how critical race

theory affects a local community.2 Similar to Waxman’s “Past Tense” is Holcombe’s article on

Asian American history in US schools.3 A more professional way for authors to publish their

works is through academic journals. Academic journals vary from topic to topic but every one

contains careful thought, dedication to the topic, and years of research. Childe’s academic

journal about “African American Education and Social Studies” argues that how African

American history is taught in schools needs to be changed.4 Not as common as academic

journals, are case studies. Cook Sather’s case study on how students and teachers can respect

each other’s voices, is a great resource for educators. From this case study educators can create

a respectful environment where students can speak their mind freely and have their opinion

respected by the teacher and vice versa.5

Reading a scholar's published works is one way to open communication between

scholars and educators. However, the accessibility of some published works is limited. Most

academic journals or case studies are confined to the university level. 6 Educators will have to be

2 Waxman, Olivia B., Alana Abramson, and Alejandro De La Garza. “Past Tense.” TIME Magazine 198, no.
1/2 (July 5, 2021): 76–84. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=mth&AN=151052815&site=eds-live&scope=site
3 Holcombe, Madeline. “Most US Schools Teach Little to Nothing about Asian American History and It
Hurts Everyone, Experts Say.” CNN Wire, May 31, 2021. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?
direct=true&db=edsbig&AN=edsbig.A663627476&site=eds-live&scope=site.
4 Childs, David. “African American Education and Social Studies: Teaching the History of African American
Education within a Critical Pedagogy Framework.” Ohio Social Studies Review 54, no. 1 (Spring/Summer2017 2017):
44–50.
5 Cook-Sather, Alison. “Respecting Voices: How the Co-Creation of Teaching and Learning Can Support
Academic Staff, Underrepresented Students, and Equitable Practices.” Higher Education (00181560) 79, no. 5 (May
2020): 885–901. doi:10.1007/s10734-019-00445-w.
6 Cook-Sather, Alison. “Respecting Voices: How the Co-Creation of Teaching and Learning Can Support
Academic Staff, Underrepresented Students, and Equitable Practices.” Higher Education (00181560) 79, no. 5 (May
 3

an alumni of a university or have access to a university library to view certain materials that

could help them out. Educators with access to these higher level materials not only can read

these sources, but also have the option to reach out to the authors for more information. More

accessible to the general public are articles like Waxman’s, Ambramson’s, and De La Garza’s

“Past Tense” and Halcombe’s article that are published through major news and entertainment

sources. The authors of these articles can easily reach out to educators and scholars to ask for

an interview or comment to be published. Communication today is facilitated through the

internet and social media, two resources almost everyone has access to.

In the fields of history and education, there is a constant stream of new information to

be shared. Language and vocabulary used change with the times, distinguished scholars are the

ones to coin new terms and pass it down to educators to inform the public youth. Information

is gathered and published through various ways, sometimes written as a simple article or

showcased in a case study. Communication between educators and historians happens at

different levels and through different mediums. Both historians and educators rely on each

other to expand their respective fields, knowledge, and to create the best environment for

learning and growth.

2020): 885–901. doi:10.1007/s10734-019-00445-w.

 4

Bibliography

Childs, David. “African American Education and Social Studies: Teaching the History of African

American Education within a Critical Pedagogy Framework.” Ohio Social Studies Review

54, no. 1 (Spring/Summer2017 2017): 44–50.

Cook-Sather, Alison. “Respecting Voices: How the Co-Creation of Teaching and Learning Can

Support Academic Staff, Underrepresented Students, and Equitable Practices.” Higher

Education (00181560) 79, no. 5 (May 2020): 885–901. doi:10.1007/s10734-019-00445-

w.

Holcombe, Madeline. “Most US Schools Teach Little to Nothing about Asian American History

and It Hurts Everyone, Experts Say.” CNN Wire, May 31, 2021.

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=edsbig&AN=edsbig.A663627476&site=eds-live&scope=site.

Okumus, Osman. “History Education for Disadvantaged Groups in Theory and in Practice.”

International Online Journal of Education & Teaching 8, no. 2 (April 2021): 1291–1311.

Waxman, Olivia B., Alana Abramson, and Alejandro De La Garza. “Past Tense.” TIME Magazine

198, no. 1/2 (July 5, 2021): 76–84. http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?

direct=true&db=mth&AN=151052815&site=eds-live&scope=site