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About Jeremy Stoddard

Jeremy Stoddard is Professor of Curriculum & Instruction at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a researcher in the Wisconsin Center for Education Research. His research examines the teaching of civics and history in partisan contexts, the integration of media education into democratic education, and engagement with difficult or marginalized histories and contemporary controversial issues. Prior to joining UW-Madison in 2019, Stoddard was on faculty at William & Mary, where he served as Chair of the Department of Curriculum & Instruction.

Major Contributions

Media and democratic education: Pioneering research on how media representations shape students understanding of history and civic issues.
Teaching difficult histories: Research on how teachers address marginalized and controversial historical events in the classroom.
Civic education in partisan contexts: Examines how political polarization affects the teaching of civics and history.
Film and media in social studies: Research on using documentary film, news media, and digital sources in history education.
9/11 and the War on Terror in education: Collaborative research with Diana Hess examining what schools teach about 9/11 and the ongoing War on Terror.

Key Ideas

Media as Civic Text: Students need critical media literacy skills to analyze how films, news, and digital media shape their understanding of civic issues.
Difficult Histories: Teaching controversial historical events requires specific pedagogical strategies to help students engage productively with trauma and marginalization.
Partisan Contexts: Political polarization creates unique challenges for civic education that require new approaches to teacher preparation.
Documentary and Democracy: Documentary films shape public understanding of history and civic issues — students must learn to read them critically.
Inquiry-Based Learning: History and civic education should be centered on inquiry and the investigation of authentic questions.

“In an age of media saturation and political polarization, teaching students to critically analyze how they learn about the world is as important as what they learn.”

Selected Publications

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"Teaching 9/11 and the War on Terror" (2024, with Diana Hess): Theory & Research in Social Education.

"Documentary Film in the Social Studies Classroom" (2014): Social Education.

"The Challenges of Teaching Civics in Partisan Times" (2020): Journal of Social Studies Research.

"Hillary: The Movie, the History Channel, and the Challenge of the Political Documentary" (2013): Teachers College Record.

Frequent Collaborators

Diana Hess

Dean Emerita, School of Education, University of Wisconsin-Madison

Jeremy Stoddard