Missing in Interaction: Diversity, Narrative, and Critical Multicultural Social Studies

This article examines the production of historical knowledge in elementary and middle school classrooms. Drawing on an analysts of two qualitative case studies of the curriculum in use, the author argues that efforts to create narratives that embody diversity are flawed, due to their failure to represent the interactions between diverse groups and whites in US history. Because diverse groups and whites are “missing in interaction,” school-based historical knowledge is a poor resource for enabling students to develop a discourse of contemporary race and ethnic relations that addresses institutional racism, structural inequality, and power. The author concludes by arguing that a critical multicultural social studies must focus on the actions and interactions between diverse groups to make visible power relations in US history and society.