Within its commitment to enrich the discussion about the national curricula, LAH organized in collaboration with the Centre for Lebanese Studies, and the Department of History and Archaeology at the American University of Beirut a public lecture entitled “The Strife for the History Curriculum: The Case of Lebanon and England”.
The lecture aimed to open a discussion with regards to the curriculum deadlock that exists in Lebanon since the Ta’if Accord that stipulated unified national history textbooks. The two lecturers Christine Counsell (University of Cambridge) and Simon Avdel Massih (Lebanese University) shared their respective experiences with regards to the making of the national curricula. Counsell who focused on “History Teachers as Curriculum Makers: the Shaping of England’s National Curriculum for History, 1991 to 2014” explained how history teachers succeeded in pushing their way into the making of the curriculum by changing their role to curricular thinkers. Abdel Massih who focused on the “Making of the Lebanese History Curriculum in Lebanon during the Transitional Period” pointed out to the failure to produce a national curriculum in Lebanon. He highlighted conflictual issues and how these issues evolved since independence and more specifically in the post war era.
The lecture triggered a much needed and enriching discussion among scholars, historians and members of the national history committees in Lebanon.
