I am always interested in breaking down students’ misconceptions about certain topics in world history, especially as I have continued to learn material that challenge my own misconceptions or misunderstandings. For example, I’ve since moved away from teaching the “myth” of Asian isolationism (see Liberating Narratives blog post: https://www.liberatingnarratives.com/eurocentrism-and-the-myth-of-east-asian-isolation/) and my own additional research, and visit to Dejima in Nagasaki in the summer of 2023 confirms that the region was not “isolated” in the way it is portrayed in textbooks or how I’ve taught it in the past.
Are there any other topics that you may teach about that needs to be “corrected” and how do you approach those topics?
