WHA Annual Meeting: Korea 2026

The WHA Annual Meeting asks, “how can we write, teach, and think about world history in a moment characterized both by global entanglement and anti-globalist politics?” This roundtable is envisioned as a chance to bring together secondary and college-level educators who come from training in various regions and specializations to reflect on how we teach world history today. The goal for this roundtable is to prioritize conversation, pedagogical exchange, and practical insight on the shared challenges instructors at both the secondary and undergraduate levels face in an increasingly politicized classroom. We will explore how the current social, political, and economic environment of the U.S. is influencing our teaching of world history, as well as how we negotiate our own political/ideological position in the classroom. Responding directly to the conference theme, “Closed Borders and Global Connections: Being Global after Globalization,” participants will examine how anti-globalist rhetoric, culture-war politics, post-truth narratives fueled by social media/AI, and ideological polarization are shaping classroom dynamics, curricular design, and student engagement. By bridging secondary and higher education perspectives, this roundtable aims to produce practical insights for navigating politicized classrooms while sustaining the intellectual integrity and global scope of world history.

Teaching history survey courses is often a daunting assignment for specialists, but teaching a region outside one's primary expertise presents unique challenges in balancing coverage with depth. When assigned 'Asian History Since 1600' in Spring 2025, I sought to move beyond a narrative defined solely by a sequence of martial conflicts driven by male actors. I determined that the course needed to include three things: Women, Central Asia, and primary sources. One way that I introduced a gendered lens to the course was through their major assignment, “The Value of a Single Story.”

This presentation explores “The Value of a Single Story” paper and discussion activity, where students choose from four regional texts (Central, South, Southeast, and East Asia) to explore watershed events, including India’s Partition, the Japanese occupation of China, the Vietnam War, and the war in Afghanistan. This year’s options included Wild Swans, Even the Women Must Fight, The Underground Girls of Kabul, and Independence: A Novel. By integrating memoirs, biographies, and historical fiction centered on women and girls, I developed a framework to recenter the historical narrative. This approach hones research and contextualization skills for history majors and non-majors alike, while effectively 'gendering' the wars and revolutions of modern Asia. Students appreciate the balance between freedom to choose one of four texts, with the structure provided through the questions and rubric. The jigsaw discussion ensures that all students learn about each of the historical moments and the women and girls’ experiences, taking the place of research presentations. Finally, students enjoy the readings, expressing that they learn more about how people experienced war, occupation, and revolution.

Participants will receive links to a lesson template and sample assignments.