In the Shadow of Authoritarianism

In the Shadow of Authoritarianism explores how American educators, in the wake of World War I, created a student-centered curriculum in response to authoritarian threats abroad. For most of the 20th century, American educators lived in the shadow of ideological, political, cultural, and existential threats (including Prussianism, propaganda, collectivism, dictatorship, totalitarianism, mind control, the space race, and moral relativity). To meet the perceived threat, the American curriculum was gradually moved in a more student-centered direction that focused less on “what to think” and more on “how to think.” This book examines the period between World War I and the 1980s, focusing on how U.S. schools countered the influence of fascist and communist ideologies, as well as racial discrimination. Fallace also considers this approach in light of current interests in the Common Core State Standards.

Book Features:

• Places American educational ideas in a global context.
• Outlines how events overseas shaped, challenged, and supported the ideals of progressive and postwar education.
• Discusses a major reorientation in democratic education from ideological commitment to ideological skepticism before and after World War II.
• Examines how leading American educators cited the work of educational philosopher John Dewey in different ways before and after World War II.
• Traces how educators responded to epistemological issues surrounding propaganda and indoctrination, precursors to “fake news” and “alternative facts.”

Thomas D. Fallace is a professor of education at William Paterson University in New Jersey. He is the author of Race and the Origins of Progressive Education, 1880–1929 and Dewey and the Dilemma of Race: An Intellectual History, 1895-1922.

“a thoughtful, clearly written work that historians of education may enjoy reading…Fallace's book offers an interesting reflection upon the history of ideas from twentieth-century education.”

—History of Education Quarterly

"Does a healthy democracy require an authoritarian enemy? In the face of overseas challenges like fascism and communism, American educators sought to teach the skills and habits of democracy: reason, tolerance, and especially critical thinking. But as Thomas Fallace shows, when the Cold War came to a close, overtly economic goals replaced democratic ones. Perhaps the recent rise of new authoritarian threats--not just abroad, but also at home--will rejuvenate our long tradition of democratic education. Schools have served as the bulwarks of democracy before. Let's hope they can do so again, guided by this smart little book."
—Jonathan Zimmerman, University of Pennsylvania

“Fallace offers a fresh, provocative history of democratic education as it has been practiced in the United States.”
—Walter Parker, University of Washington

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction: How to Think, Not What to Think

Chapter 1. In the Shadow of Prussianism
   German Influence on U.S. Education
   Anti-Prussianism and the World War
   The Americanization Campaign
   The Americanization of John Dewey

Chapter 2. In the Shadow of Propaganda
   Mobilizing Students for War
   Propaganda Anxiety Arises
   Postwar Disillusionment
   Educators Against Propaganda

Chapter 3. In the Shadow of Collectivism
   American Educators on Soviet Russia
   American Educators on Fascist Italy
   Education for Social Planning

Chapter 4. In the Shadow of Dictatorship
   Collectivism Reconsidered
   Naturalism under Attack
   Propaganda Analysis
   The Paradox of Race

Chapter 5. In the Shadow of Totalitarianism
   Science and Democracy
   The End of Ideology
   Teaching How to Think
   Dewey on the Defensive

Chapter 6. In the Shadow of Mind Control
   The Culture of the Cold War
   Mental Hygiene
   Life Adjustment Education
   Educational Brainwashing

Chapter 7. In the Shadow of Sputnik
   The Rhetoric and Reality of School Practice
   The Two Cultures of Social Science
   The Structure of the Disciplines
   Academic Professors to the Rescue
   Out with the New

Chapter 8. In the Shadow of Moral Relativity
   The Fall of Consensus Liberalism
   The Affective Revolution
   What to Think

Notes

Bibliography

Index

About the Author