Apr 21, 2008

Podcast - History Under Siege: battles over the past

History, like politics, is about national identity. So the work of historians frequently comes under attack, amid calls for the refurbishment or restoration of national identity. From the United States to the decolonised countries in Africa and South East Asia, the trend towards historical revisionism has been surprising in its breadth, scale and diversity of argument.

Relevant to the politically correct revisionism of New Zealand history, this 55 minute podcast is Part 3 of Australia from History in the Hindsight ABC series.

The program places Australia's 'history wars' against comparable experiences in some of the other countries featured in the series. Has the country witnessed the politicisation of Australian history over the last ten or fifteen years? And is the anxiety over the historical literacy in school children linked to these wider tensions in the history wars?

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