Why national narratives are perpetuated: A literature review on new insights from history textbook research (London Review of Education vol. 15 , nr. 2, pp. 286-301). (original) (raw)
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London Review of Education
National narratives have often served to mobilize the masses for war by providing myths and distorted interpretations of the past, while conversely wars were major sources for producing national narratives. Because national history is very likely to remain a central topic in history education, albeit in ways that differ from how the topic was used fifty years ago, it is important to gain a greater understanding of the underlying structures and mechanisms of these narratives in history textbooks. After outlining the historical interconnectedness of the emerging nation states and history teaching, this review article explains the complexity of the history textbook as an educational resource. Next, we identify some current problems and challenges in history textbook research. We continue by discussing promising research trends related mainly to national narratives, such as the analysis of images, the use of digital tools, and studies of the autonomy of textbook narratives and of histor...
National Textbook Narratives and Historiography: Presenting a Same That is Never the Same
Croatian Journal of Education - Hrvatski časopis za odgoj i obrazovanje, 2020
National textbook narratives are written from particular national perspectivesand goals. Thus, “the same is never (or at least not always) the same” and whatwe learn depends on the context of when and where we are learning it. When itcomes to major conflicts between nations or states, how one handles the telling ofthe same conflict event can be especially poignant. Starting from the writing ofnational events, this text looks back to another large-scale (inter-)national conflict,the Prussian Wars (1864-1871), to discuss how the four different developing nationstatesof Germany (via Prussia), Denmark, Austria, and France elaborated uniquehistorical narrative trajectories (from the 1860s to 1910s) for their own nationalcurricula and future citizens. From the findings, which discuss the ways thesedeveloping nation-states represented their national ideals, identity, and goals intheir national Prussian War narratives in textbooks, we then come back to thepresent with a better understanding...
2021
One way to decolonise the history curriculum is to challenge traditional frames in which history is taught and understood. The most well-known frame in which history has been presented in history textbooks is the national one. However, stories from different countries that emphasize national unique characteristics often share interesting similarities. This article considers national narratives in history textbooks from a global perspective in order to shed light on some of these resemblances.
Echoing Events. The Perpetuation of National Narratives in English and Dutch History Textbooks, 1920-2010 (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht Verlage), 2022
“Echoing Events” questions the perpetuation, actualization, and canonization of national narratives in English and Dutch history textbooks, wide-reaching media that tendentially inspire a sense of meaning, memory, and thus also identity. The longitudinal study begins in the 1920s, when the League of Nations launched several initiatives to reduce strong nationalistic visions in textbooks, and ends in the new millennium with the revival of national narratives in both countries. The analysis shows how and why textbook authors have narrated different histories – which vary in terms of context, epoch, and place – as ‘echoing events’ by using recurring plots and the same combinations of historical analogies. This innovative and original study thus investigates from a new angle the resistance of national narratives to change. https://www.vr-elibrary.de/doi/book/10.14220/9783737014502
Intervention, 2018
Historical issues are problems of both the past and the present. One of the strongest elements composing history and the collective memory of generations is history education, with textbooks serving as the tool. This global activity gives significance and legitimacy to the existence of the nation-state. However, most countries’ history education is state-led and occurs within institutions. This study begins with the question of whether nation-centric history can be overcome. It then analyzes the history textbooks of European and Asian countries, focusing particularly on how countries with histories of aggression describe wars or acts of colonization. The study examines, in Europe, France’s description of the Algerian War and Germany’s description of World War II, and, in Asia, Japan’s description of the Sino-Japanese Wars and colonization of Korea. It concludes by discussing joint textbook writing as a step towards peacebuilding.
(Re)Constructing Memory: Textbooks, Identity, Nation, and State
2016
Official school textbooks provide a rich source of material for those seeking to understand the greater social effects of schooling and the larger social and political contexts of education. Textbooks provide official knowledge a society wants its children to acquire-facts, figures, dates, seminal events. Textbooks also frame the facts, figures, dates, and events in a larger, though generally implicit, narrative that describes how things were, what happened, and how they came to be the way they are now. A group's representation of its past is often intimately connected with its identity-who "we" are (and who we are not) as well as who "they" are. Analysis of textbooks provides a lens through which to examine what might be called a nation's deeper or hidden social and political curriculum. Comparative and longitudinal analyses provide a better understanding of variations and continuities in these "curricula" over time and across national contexts. Moreover, analysis of the implicit "pedagogy" of teaching and learning in textbooks provides insight into the relationship envisioned between the student and history. Is history presented as an interpretation of events that are socially understood, constructed, and contested, and in which the individual has both individual and social agency, or as a set of fixed, unitary, and unassailable historical and social facts to be memorized? Do students have a role in constructing history, or is it external to them? How is history presented when that history is recent and contested? These volumes propose a series of comparative investigations of the deeper social and political "curricula" of school textbooks, in contexts where ACKNOWLEDGMENTS It is a daunting task indeed to try to acknowledge the help we have received in completing this book. We must thank our contributors and publisher, for hanging in with us. Especially deep gratitude to Cindy Orticio, our copy editor, who has put up with more "hurry up and wait" than any human being should have to deal with. We must thank several dozen anonymous reviewers for their feedback and comments, which were extraordinarily helpful.
Journal of World Sociopolitical Studies, 2024
This paper investigates the intricacies of crafting historical narratives within secondary school textbooks in Afghanistan throughout the past century. Employing critical discourse analysis, the study scrutinizes five compelling examples illuminating the complex interplay between historiography, political ideologies, and artistic subjectivity in shaping students’ conception of national identity. The first case centers on the invention of fictional historical figures like Amir Kror that link Afghan lineage to powerful dynasties, but lack scholarly rigor and threaten social cohesion. Second, the analysis explores identity distortions woven into textbook images that portray figures like Genghis Khan with distinctly Afghan features, blurring historical accuracy. Third, it highlights methodological limitations and potential regional biases that cloud academic debates on the origins of dynasties like the Kartids. Fourth, the construction of demographic averages regarding ethnicity and religion without empirical basis raises concerns about perpetuating damaging stereotypes. Finally, the ubiquitous name “Afghanistan” itself reveals imbalanced emphases on particular eras, shaping modern conceptions of nationhood. Collectively, these five examples underscore the need for responsible scholarship and factual precision in history education to foster authentic engagement with Afghanistan’s rich and diverse heritage. As the curriculum shapes students’ notions of identity and selfhood, commitment to academic accountability and balanced historiography becomes essential to nurturing inclusive discourse and national cohesion.
Nationhood and Politicization of History in School Textbooks
Nationhood and Politicization of History in School Textbooks, 2020
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2013
This article explores one of the many television shows broadcast in Japan on occasion of the 70 th anniversary of the end of the AsiaPacific War: The War that Cannot Be Learned from Textbooks. The objective is to extract a sample of the current narratives found in mainstream media related to the topic of Japanese involvement in that war and show that they are aligned with the discourse found in Japan's officially approved history textbooks, becoming another form of history education. Relying on an interpretative textual analysis of the show, it is argued that there is a tendency in Japanese media to exalt the heroism and sacrifice of Japanese soldiers, their human side, their patriotism, and the elements of a traditional national identity found in their lives, exonerating them from the crimes perpetrated by the Japanese Army on other Asian nations, which are not even mentioned, echoing the formal education discourse.