In this address given at the Association for Canadian Studies’ “Giving the Future a Past” Conference in 2001, Seixas works to define the purposes of teaching Canadian history in a time of intensified historical consciousness. He begins by disagreeing with historian W.L. Morton that the purpose is to create myth, or a collective memory. Instead, he suggests that we need to distinguish between myth and history. On the one hand, myths are impossible to challenge, no matter the addition of new evidence, and that in our diverse society, they do not allow for a reconciliation of differing accounts of the past. Critical historical discourse, on the other hand, allows us to work to reconcile differing accounts by bringing the arguments into the classroom.

He argues that there is a renewed interest in the past at the beginning of the twenty-first century for several reasons: because tradition is falling apart; global migration and multiculturalism; the toppling of old regimes; the empowerment of previously disempowered groups; and globalization. These changes reduce the power of myth to unify society. So, we need historical consciousness, which revolves around six questions: (1) How did things get to be as we see them today?; (2) What group or groups am I a part of, and what are its origins?; (3) How should we judge each other’s past actions?; (4) Are things basically getting better or are they getting worse?; (5) What stories about the past should I believe?; and (6) Which stories should we tell? Good answers to these questions must meet three criteria: (1) comprehend the interpretive choices and constraints in using sources from the past to construct historical accounts; (2) understand the pastness of the past; and (3) acknowledge complexity and uncertainty. Seixas argues that if we can make use of these criteria, we can advance, not just intensify, historical consciousness, and that schools are in the best position to do so. He concludes by arguing that the purpose of teaching Canadian history is to help students learn how to deconstruct mythic narratives of the past.