In 2019, the New York Times launched a new series called the 1619 Project. Established in August 2019, the 400th anniversary of the beginning date for slavery in North America, this reporting project announced it aimed to “reframe the country’s history by placing the consequences of slavery and the contributions of Black Americans at the very center of our national narrative.” While the project has garnered great acclaim over the last four years, it has also generated great controversy and opposition. Heated discourse over the teaching of American history is not new, however it has reached a new level of notoriety and publicity in the last few years. This heated discourse is not merely a matter of polemics and editorial arguments, it raises questions that not only go to the nature of history itself as a discipline, but also touch upon the very idea of American identity and purpose. This course will explore the recent controversies over the teaching of American history and attempt to place them in political and historical context. In this examination, we will not only look at contemporary arguments over how to teach history, but also examine the development and operation of history as an academic discipline - particularly in face of public memory and political uses of the past. Cliff Wilcox, Ph.D., is a historian who focuses on American intellectual and cultural history. His courses concentrate on the intersection of culture, ideas, education, and religion in American society. He lectures for Cal Lutheran’s Fifty and Better Program and at other local lifelong learning programs. He holds a Ph.D. in American intellectual history from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Fifty and Better was designed to offer university-level courses and lectures (no tests, no homework) taught by experts in the field, and to host social engagement activities for individuals age 50 and older.