History Wars matter because identity politics will foster racism and kill the ‘fair go’ - The Centre for Independent Studies
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History Wars matter because identity politics will foster racism and kill the ‘fair go’

cis logo 640x360The politicised kind of history of taught in Australian universities and schools misleads students about the potentially divisive issues of racism in Australia, Centre for Independent Studies researcher Dr Jeremy Sammut says in a new paper.

In The History Wars Matter, Dr Sammut shows why the debate about practice and teaching of Australian history is crucial to counteract the threat identity politics poses to an egalitarian and tolerant Australia.

“The radical education framework has turned history into propaganda that — by applying today’s standards to historic policies — amplifies and advances the agenda of social division and racism,” Dr Sammut says.

“This is history in the most limited sense of the word.

“Identity politics proponents present Australia as an enduringly racist country with a ‘dark underbelly’ that needs to be ‘fixed’ by institutionalising difference rather than fostering the commonality and community cohesion of our ‘fair go’ attitudes.

“Hence, we see calls for quotas to increase the number of Asian CEOs and board members, we see increasing moves for race-restricted spaces and facilities, and we see an increasing distortion of what our history means today.

Dr Jeremy Sammut has a PhD in Australian History. He is a Senior Research Fellow at The Centre for Independent Studies and author of The History Wars Matter.