Introduction

As mentioned in the Preface, this book is about cognitive and instructional processes in history and social sciences, with an emphasis on history. Why a book about these topics? Is history an important topic for people who are not historians or history students? Does history deserve the interest of cognitive and instructional researchers? We think it does, even though until recently there has been a scarcity of such studies. Looking at the mundane, we find that best-selling novels in many countries are historical, and these novels frequently became movies, movies that indeed may distort history. Also, the industry of tourism, which has grown so much since World War II, may in part reflect an interest of people to look at their past. From a religious point of view, Christians and Jews visiting Israel, and Muslims visiting Mecca, and other cities may be providing such a meaning.