Book Review: (Re)Constructing Memory: Education, Identity, and Conflict edited by Michelle J. Bellino and James H. Williams
(Re)Constructing Memory: Education, Identity, and Conflict, edited by Michelle J. Bellino and James H. Williams, offers insight into the dynamic field of history education and its relationship to the state and to collective memory in conflictaffected countries. Highlighting the complex relationship between education, conflict, and peace, Bellino and Williams bring together a diverse series of case studies to understand the importance of this relationship in both theory and practice. The four parts of the volume examine the various facets of this relationship: the role textbooks play in supporting and legitimating national narratives and building collective identity; how formal narratives of colonial and imperial history in schools change and persist over time; the complex nature of specific programs of interaction and integration in divided societies; and the nuanced role education can play in building peace by developing democratic practices or reconciliation mechanisms in classrooms. The contributing authors offer in-depth case studies of important issues in the field, not only expanding on existing frameworks—particularly the “two faces” of education framework (Bush and Saltarelli 2000)—but also challenging many assumptions within the field.