The Third World Perspective on the Cold War: Making Curriculum and Pedagogy Relevant in History Classrooms

Abstract

American and global history curriculum frameworks for high schools across the fifty states generally present the topic of the Cold War from the Western political perspective and contain material about the impact of the US-Soviet ideological rivalry on American society. This article argues that since the Cold War impacted the lives of the people in the Third World as well, their stories deserve a place in the history curriculum. Also, the article suggests that since the American society is now culturally diverse, it is imperative for history educators to teach history in the learners' social and cultural contexts. Therefore, both the Cold War history content and pedagogy should include perspective from the Third World so that the past is relevant and meaningful for the students learning about the global Cold War.