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The Print
a day ago
- General
- The Print
History teaching requires revision more than textbooks
After all, how often do Indian households encourage history as a job? A base-level problem here is: how do you support the study of history when it isn't even clear what a historian does? Yet, despite this range of work, one question almost always follows when we explain what we do: 'Okay, but what is your real job?' The question says as much about our profession as it does about how history itself is perceived in India. What does it mean to be a historian in India? Both of us have formally studied the subject. In the years we've spent working as public historians, we've told myriad stories of India's chequered pasts through heritage walks, museum trails, cultural events, podcasts, an annual journal, book reviews, articles, and social media posts. We've pored over archives and conducted on-ground research. We've also translated scholarship into language and experiences that anyone, from an academic to a casual listener, can connect with. In childhood, history may occasionally bask in the dreamy, cinematic glow of Indiana Jones and Night at the Museum. Or Bharat Ek Khoj, Akbar-Birbal adaptations, the delightfully gory Horrible Histories, and Amar Chitra Katha. In adulthood, though, it either fades into collective amnesia, gets wrapped in nostalgia, or turns into a battlefield of contested claims. Where is the middle ground where we carry forward that childlike curiosity, tempered with adult discernment, to engage with the past with the depth and nuance it deserves? A polarising debate has recently been sparked after yet another round of revisions in NCERT history textbooks. But more than textbooks, history teaching requires revision. Also Read: Indus Valley to Mughal Empire—How illustrated history books guide us in polarising times Updating isn't the problem What do you remember from your history classes? For most, the answers fall into familiar buckets: rote learning of names, dates, dynasties, and wars. There was little room to explore the texture of lived experience, or to ask: how can this subject help me become a better thinker, a more reflective human? The discipline was frozen in time, and with it, many of us felt we too were trapped — learning about the past in a way that felt wholly disconnected from the present, let alone the future. This is part of the reason historical studies aren't seen as foundations for sustainable careers. But paradoxically, history seems to dominate our headlines. It's everywhere: in TV debates, political speeches, social media threads. Everyone, it seems, has something to say about the past. That's why the current debate on revisions matters. The problem isn't with 'updating' history. Our understanding of the past evolves as our present changes. Every historian is shaped by their time, drawing not only on the materials and theoretical bases available, but also on their own perspectives and questions. So revisions themselves aren't the issue. The real concern is how history textbooks are revised. If these changes were aimed at helping students approach the past critically, and provided them with the historian's toolkit — by introducing them to a range of sources, perspectives, and debates — then they would be fruitful. More revisions, less reasoning Our NCERT textbooks have been subject to regular revisions, with new theories and ideas inserted alongside scholars' evolving approaches to history. This exercise is necessary, so long as the emphasis remains on updations that accurately convey the latest reflections on continuities and changes over time. Increasingly, however, sporadic revisions have become the norm. Since 2018, textbooks have been altered to remove sections on communalism in the 1940s, Mughal manuscripts, caste struggles, and popular movements. When textbooks were revised during the Covid-19 pandemic, deletions were made on grounds of 'rationalisation'. It is perplexing that post-pandemic, too, the NCERT has failed to offer academic explanations for revising humanities textbooks. 'Rationalised' textbooks remain prescribed, with intermittent 'revisions' still trickling in. In its latest revision of history textbooks for eighth grade students, the NCERT introduces Mughal emperors as 'brutal' and 'ruthless', Delhi Sultans' policies as 'public humiliation' for non-Muslims, and Maratha leadership as 'visionary'. Earlier textbooks covered the most notable features of each of these polities, minus the adjectives. A reading of Our Pasts – II, the medieval history text prescribed to seventh grade students from 2007 to 2021, allows useful comparison. The text discussed administrative successes and failures, economic policy, and societal changes, and tested students' critical thinking skills based on their understanding of objective details. The most telling aspect of the history textbook revision is the NCERT's inclusion of a 'Note on Some Darker Periods in History'. Here, a disclaimer reads that 'no one should be held responsible today for events of the past', which appears to be an admission of the provocative nature of the updated content. Students as young as the eighth grade — studying history as part of a wide curriculum spanning science, mathematics, and languages — ought to be introduced to history in a manner that shapes them into informed citizens, and perhaps, optimistically, stimulates deeper engagement with the discipline later in their lives. The goal should be to teach students that history, and the humanities more broadly, are about thinking more, asking better questions, and becoming sharper citizens. What students need is not less complexity, but more clarity on how complexity functions. But the kinds of revisions we're seeing strip that away. They remove the very skills that make historical thinking meaningful, and the result is a citizen who either dismisses history entirely or defends it without support, often overwhelmed by louder, ahistorical voices that dominate discourse. Also Read: India's new search for Hindu warrior kings to celebrate. Vikramaditya, Suheldev to Agrasen Teaching history for the future Perhaps the most important revision we need is in how we frame history — it should be less a closed book of facts and more a lens to view the world. In 2025, it's worth asking, how can we teach history as a subject that helps carve a path forward? How do we make sure students don't feel like history is either just for nostalgic glorification or adversarial defence? How do we make its dissemination promising enough for students to be able to say they wish to become academics, curators, conservators, archaeologists, museologists, or historians? Through our public history platform Itihāsology, we repeatedly highlight the foremost issue with history as a school subject — that it is 'boring', unappealing to young learners. A lack of interest in history during the formative years of schooling manifests in detachment from scholarly debates, and an unfortunate turn toward distorted, coloured versions of the past in adult life. This becomes relevant because history frequently comes up in popular discourse and debates, with socially and politically active adults justifying current stances by drawing on the past. Since the problem of subscribing to ahistorical renderings of the past is rooted in studenthood, the solution lies in devising more effective ways to communicate history to young learners so they grow up knowing there is indeed a future with a past — one that they need to protect from falling into the pit of homogeneity. Eric Chopra and Kudrat B. Singh run Itihāsology, an educational platform dedicated to making Indian history and art inclusive and accessible. Views are personal. (Edited by Asavari Singh)
San Francisco Chronicle
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- San Francisco Chronicle
Robin Williams' haunting final days resurface as ‘Night at the Museum' franchise returns
Nearly two decades after Robin Williams first brought Teddy Roosevelt to life in 'Night at the Museum,' the family-friendly film franchise is getting a reboot — this time with a new cast, an original storyline and a fresh voice guiding the script. Production company 21 Laps has begun developing the reimagining for 20th Century Studios, with Tripper Clancy set to pen the screenplay. Shawn Levy, who directed the original trilogy, will return as producer alongside Dan Levine, maintaining creative continuity for a series that has grossed more than $1.3 billion worldwide, according to Deadline. The reboot will reportedly remain set in the same type of enchanted museum where exhibits spring to life after dark, but will introduce an entirely new slate of characters. It marks the franchise's first live-action installment since 2014's 'Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb' — a film now remembered as Williams' final live-action role. Behind the scenes of that film, Williams was already exhibiting signs of serious struggle, Levy revealed in the 2020 documentary 'Robin's Wish.' 'I would say a month into the shoot, it was clear to me, it was clear to all of us on set, that something was going on with Robin,' Levy said. 'We saw that Robin was struggling in a way that he hadn't before, to remember lines and to combine the right words with the performance.' Though Williams had spoken publicly about his battles with depression, it wasn't until after his death that his family disclosed he had been diagnosed with Lewy body dementia — a neurological disorder that severely affected his memory and confidence. The toll of the disease became evident in Williams' late-night phone calls to Levy. 'When Robin would call me at 10 at night, at two in the morning, at four in the morning, saying, 'Is it usable? Is any of this usable? Do I suck? What's going on? ' I would reassure him,' Levy said in the documentary. 'I said, 'You are still you. I know it. The world knows it. You just need to remember that.'' Williams died by suicide at age 63 in his Marin County home in August 2014, just four months before the film's release. He is also remembered for his roles in 1997's Oscar-winning 'Good Will Hunting,' 1993's 'Mrs. Doubtfire' and 1996's 'Birdcage.' 'My faith in him never left, but I saw his morale crumbling,' Levy added. 'I saw a guy that wasn't himself, and that was unforgivable.' While plot details remain under wraps, the reboot will be the first entry in the franchise since the 2022 animated feature 'Night at the Museum: Kahmunrah Rises Again,' released on Disney+. Levy is also preparing to direct 'Star Wars: Starfighter,' starring Ryan Gosling, while original leading man Ben Stiller has shifted his focus behind the camera, producing the acclaimed series 'Severance.' In recent days, a resurfaced comedy clip has rekindled admiration for Williams' sharp political humor. In a 2012 stand-up set, the comedian skewered then-real estate mogul Donald Trump, likening Atlantic City to the 'Wizard of Oz on acid' filled with 'junkies, pimps and pizza.' 'And Donald Trump is the Wizard of Oz, he is the guy,' Williams said. 'He plays monopoly with real f—ing buildings. This is a scary man.' Williams didn't hold back, skewering Trump's beauty pageant empire. 'He owns all these beauty pageants, Miss America, Miss Universe,' he said. 'Isn't that a bit like Michael Vick owning a series of pet stores?' Williams didn't hold back, skewering Trump's beauty pageant empire; taking aim at Trump's infamous hairstyle and at the mogul's controversial remark about his daughter Ivanka being 'hot.' 'Even people in Arkansas went, 'that's f—ing wrong,'' Williams said. 'That's just way out of place.'
Newsweek
11-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
'Road House 2' Loses Fan-Favorite Director
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. Entertainment gossip and news from Newsweek's network of contributors While Jake Gyllenhaal and English director Guy Ritchie are fast becoming frequent collaborators, it looks like "Road House 2" won't be one of the projects they work on together. Back in April it was revealed that Ritchie was directing the sequel to Amazon MGM's remake, but now Deadline is reporting that the "Fountain of Youth" director has left the project. Read More: 'Night at the Museum' Reboot On The Way As of yet, no reason has been given for Ritchie exiting "Road House 2." Jake Gyllenhaal in promotional material for "Road House". Jake Gyllenhaal in promotional material for "Road House". Amazon MGM Deadline further reports that the plan is to move forward in a search for a new director, with shooting of "Road House 2" still scheduled for the fall. Doug Liman directed the 2024 remake though it seems doubtful he would be a candidate for the sequel. "Road House" was reportedly originally meant for a theatrical release and Liman's compensation shrank when the film instead went straight to streaming. The director was vocal about his unhappiness in interviews about the movie. While "Road House" may not have had a chance at the box office, the film proved to be a streaming hit. Releasing on Amazon Prime Video last March, the film had close to 80 million viewers in its first eight weeks. According to then-Amazon MGM Studios head Jennifer Salke, that made the film Amazon's "most-watched produced film debut ever on a worldwide basis." Will Beall is writing the script for "Road House 2". Gyllenhaal is producing along with Josh McLaughlin, and Atlas Entertainment's Charles Roven and Alex Gartner. Ivan Atkinson is executive producing. "Road House" is a reboot of the 1989 action classic starring Patrick Swayze. Gyllenhaal steps into Swayze's role, playing Elwood Dalton, an ex-UFC fighter. Dalton has it rough when the movie opens, living in his car and contemplating suicide. He's offered a job as a bouncer, and when he takes the job Dalton finds himself in the middle of a conflict involving outlaws, bikers, and a ruthless land developer who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Last month reports emerged that "Guardians of the Galaxy" alum Dave Bautista is circling a role in "Road House 2." There's no word yet on whether or not Bautista has signed on to the sequel or who he might be playing. More Movies: Chris Pratt Returns to Fan-Favorite Animated Role 'Hot Wheels' Movie On the Way from 'Wicked' Director
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
Hugh Grant appears to fall asleep at Wimbledon
The British movie star is going viral for his afternoon nap at the tennis tournament, plus, a reboot of "Night at the Museum," and more of today's entertainment headlines in The Tea. July 10, 2025
10-07-2025
- Entertainment
New teaser for Season 4 of ‘The Morning Show'
The buzziest headlines in Pop News, including a possible reboot of 'Night at the Museum' from director Shawn Levy. July 10, 2025
