In the foregoing section of this chapter I reviewed literature on textbooks in general although the examples used to elucidate the arguments were largely in reference to History textbooks. In this section I make use of the review above – in addition to reference to more pertinent literature – to explain how History textbooks in particular can participate in constructing a certain kind of consciousness for the users. In doing so, the arguments raised in the themes above are put into perspective and made relevant for this study.
Primarily, it should be noted that when learners study school History, the general expectation is that at the end of the teaching and learning process they should have acquired an historical literacy (Maposa & Wassermann, 2009; Taylor, 2003; Lee, 2004). One of the benchmarks of historical literacy is historical consciousness (Maposa & Wassermann, 2009).
It has been previously explained in Chapter 2 how historical consciousness on African History themes can translate to African consciousness. Therefore the issues raised from the literature on textbooks can be used to understand how History textbooks (themselves a social construction) can contribute to the construction of African consciousness. Ehlers (n.d.) emphasises that historical narratives “form the basis for the creation of historical consciousness” (p. 26). This understanding is based on Crawford’s (2006, p. 9) argument that
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“the social construction of school textbooks provides an important context from within which to critically investigate the dynamics underlying the cultural politics of education and the social movements that form it and which are formed by it.”
One important aspect to appreciate from the outset is that there are differences that exist between school History and professional History and this difference can also be noted between school History textbooks and general History reference books. Therefore school History textbooks and other types of History books are not written following the same genre. According to Paxton (1999) the key is the History textbooks’ lack of metadiscourse and therefore this helps widen the gap between the History that is practiced by professional historians and the History that school learners study. He argues that “textbooks typically focus tightly on facts, events, and people, and not the kinds of questions, decisions, and heuristics historians employ in their day-to-day practice” (Paxton, 1999, p. 317). The lack of metadiscourse in textbooks is directly related to what Crawford (2006, p. 18) earlier referred to as “a hotch potch” of textbook content. The differences between school History and professional History in the respective books mean that while both construct consciousness, they may do so in different ways.
Unlike that of books by professional historians, the general subgenre of History textbooks is such that they contribute to the development of a common narrative which is usually more national than regional or continental. This common narrative is evident in other faces of official History and it in turn constructs the collective memory of a society. According to Wertsch (2000) this construction is paradoxically achieved through the opposite binaries of inclusion and occlusion. In a deliberate sanitisation of history the textbook producers include content that glorifies the past of selected individuals or societies while vilifying others. Occlusion is practised by skilfully omitting the “ugly or unpleasant deeds” of the past as if they never happened (Millas, 1991, p. 28). The sanitised version of the past that is then presented has the potential to construct a certain consciousness within the textbook users. As Gordon (2005) noted, what is in the History textbooks plays a great role in the construction of the national narrative within which the ideologies and norms of the powerful are veiled. However, in some cases, some
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unpleasant content might be included and emphasised in an effort to emphasise how bad the event was. For example, according to Lorentzen (2008, p. 35) the horrors from the trenches of Belgium or Luxemburg were actively used in History textbooks throughout Europe to promote the international peace movements of the 1920s and early 30s. As was explained in Chapter 2, the narrative is “an important element in the development of historical consciousness” (Kwang- Su (1999, p. 22).
The nature of the narrative is not the only aspect of the History textbook subgenre that can contribute to the construction of forms of consciousness. Indeed, the use of language in the History textbooks is also a crucial factor. This position tallies with the Foucauldian view of social constructionism that acknowledges the constructive power of language (Foster & Crawford, 2006). The language being referred to includes the “use of metaphors, codes, previously accepted conceptions, connotations, and other semantic devices” (Frier, 1998, p. 196). The words in the History textbooks are connected with various concepts, consciousness included, and through an analysis of the language in the textbook a researcher can discover how the concepts are constructed and the nature of the text book producer’s thought processes (Donlan, 1980). This is important since concepts in language are not universal. As an example of how one word can make a huge difference and be contentious, Jeans (2005, p. 183) explains that the decision in Japan to use the word "advance" instead of "invasion" led to vociferous remonstration, not just internally, but from neighbouring China and South Korea. Similarly, the Israeli occupation authorities censored the Palestinian History textbooks until 1994 to the extent that the word “Palestine” and the map of Palestine did not appear in the books (Moughrabi, 2001, p. 6). These two examples demonstrate the deliberate efforts by textbook producers to construct a particular collective memory and consciousness through the control of text. While Paxton (1999, p. 329) argues that text in History textbooks is always interpreted uniquely according to readers’ understanding and experiences, he also maintains that “it would be going too far to assert that words on a page have no properties of their own, or that they are always and only what their readers make of them.” This means that whatever the limitations, words in History textbooks do construct a certain kind of consciousness in the mind of the reader.
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The use of language in History textbooks also has an effect on whether they construct an individual or group consciousness. In strongly nationalistic educational discourses, the textbooks are characterised by the use of the first person plural (we/us). An example of this is what appears in the Palestinian History textbooks where evidently the textbook producers use the books to develop a nationalistic group consciousness by ensuring the authors and the textbook users feel unified (al-Badarin & Maagerø, 2008). The opposite is the case in countries with more liberal educational discourses. For example the Norwegian textbooks make the reader feel that they are being addressed individually (al-Badarin & Maagerø, 2008). This in turn is more likely to promote a more individualistic consciousness.
In addition to the narrative and the use of language, visuals are also an integral aspect of the History textbook subgenre and are also important in the construction of the consciousness of the textbook user. It should be noted that, unlike in language, concepts in visuals are not universal. However, there have been efforts to give language and visuals similar significance in History textbooks as they both constitute text (LaSpina, 1998). Therefore the difference between text and visuals is not always obvious. Väisänen (2008, p. 297) prefers to refer to visuals as “imagetexts” and also contends that “texts and visual texts are not separate phenomena in textbooks but only different means to represent historically and culturally constructed information.” This view is based on the argument that an illustration, in essence, is meant to make meanings clearer or more understandable (Väisänen, 2008, p. 302). Similarly, Frier (1998, p. 199) referred to the pictures in the Israeli History textbooks as “interesting channels of discourse.” In fact text featuring pictures is understood and interpreted differently to that which has no visuals. As Osler (1994, p. 223) explains, “If, for example, we are told that medieval peasants had to serve their lord by working on the land, but we only see pictures of men engaged in this activity, we might easily and inaccurately conclude that women played little part in farming.” Another example of the power of visuals is of the Israeli textbooks which showed no single picture of Arab professionals but only showed them struggling or engaged in menial jobs (Frier, 1998).
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The selection of visuals, particularly pictures, to be used in the History textbooks should not be interpreted as innocent; neither should one assume that there was no prior selection. In fact, Osler (1994) remarks that there is usually a tendency for textbook producers to use pictures already in common memory, usually found in older books. One plausible explanation for this could be that the publishers will already have commercial rights over those pictures. In this way the textbook producers will be partaking in the strengthening of already existent narratives in public memory, hence reproducing or cementing existing kinds of consciousness. In the process, historical figures that do not feature in the pictures begin to be victims of occlusion while those that are recurrently represented as the protagonists become national heroes (Frier, 1998). Therefore visuals in History textbooks can be viewed as part of a deliberate plan to construct a certain consciousness on the textbook users. To explain this phenomenon, Väisänen (2008, p. 298) explains that the reliance on visuals as is the case in Finnish History textbooks is linked to the behaviourist learning approach which posits that “all meanings in the text have cultural meanings common to everybody.” This would imply an attempt to promote a common consciousness amongst the textbook users. It has also been argued that even textbooks written in the active learning approaches which are centred on cognitive constructivism still result in the development of particular personalities (Nogova & Huttova 2008).
The use of language and visuals and how they represent a national narrative can also be related to layout and presentation within the subgenre of History textbooks. This was the basis of Donlan’s (1980) critique of most History textbooks having a stale presentation which was full of text. He argued that at least the text should be presented in different ways, not only to enliven the book, but also to emphasise the important points to the learner. As a recommendation he suggested that “publishers could help if they put all the important words in capital letters”
Donlan (1980, p. 135). This view was also supported by Hubbuch (1989, p. 90) who contended that because of presentation in History textbooks, learners ended up recalling “absurd or vivid details” as the important information was drowned by the unimportant. In some countries, History textbooks have changed greatly in terms of presentation since Donaln’s comment in 1980 (Lorentzen, 2008). In fact, according to Selander (2008, p. 18) History textbooks in Europe in the 1940s followed a subgenre whereby “narratives were placed as verbal elements and facts
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as pictorial elements,” but this subgenre had started experiencing a direct reversal from the 1970s onwards. However, the main issue of concern regarding layout and presentation is that in some textbooks interpretations and inferences are made for the learners, thus clouding their understanding. In other words, if learners are told what is important, the History textbooks will not develop learners’ historical thinking which will be tantamount to indoctrination. Therefore an analysis of History textbooks’ presentation and layout can also help to identify the kind of consciousness that the textbook authors try to construct.
As was previously noted History textbooks are not divorced from the discourse permeating through society as official History. This macro level discourse takes the form of educational discourse and textbooks then convey the same discourse at a lower and micro level. The example given by Naseem (2008) of Pakistani textbooks promoting an educational discourse of
“nationalism, militarism and war” demonstrates that History textbooks can work to reinforce the construction of a consciousness which is already being promoted at the micro level of discourse as official History. Although Kojanitz (2008, p. 214) views textbooks as “a device for conveying intellectual ideas” he still concedes the role of textbooks in shaping the way students think. In any case, intellectual ideas are seldom divorced from the vagaries of ideology and power. This is supported by Sikorova (2008) who claims that in both Science and Social Science lessons, most learners tended to imbibe passively what the textbooks gave as information.
Not all scholars agree with the claim that History learners may be passive receptors of textbook content. For instance, Norlund (2008) claims that when learners read textbooks, their responses are either cynical or resistant. But in Mohammed’s (2008) view there can be three responses to reading a History textbook: confirmation, exploration and confrontation.
Confirmation would mean that the learner uses the textbooks to confirm whatever views or versions of history they already hold. Exploration implies looking for alternative meanings and being open to embracing them. But confrontation would entail a response whereby the learner becomes confused and will make individual conclusions. According to Mohammed (2008), these three responses are triggered by the nature of subgenre and how the textbook approaches issues.
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It was explained in Chapter 2 that historical consciousness – and hence African consciousness – is not just oriented in the past, but also in the present and future. The future aspect of historical consciousness is rather problematic for learners of History because it is not always considered.
Yet History textbooks also contribute in their own way in raising future generations and preparing them for life in posterity (Jeans, 2005). According to Garza-Lubeck (1986, p. 11), if a society can learn about the past 100 years through their History textbooks, then the same textbooks “may serve as a preview of American attitudes during the next 100 years.” Based on that understanding, History textbooks can contribute in constructing a future oriented consciousness. This is more important if one considers that the past, warts and all, cannot be relived, but a better tomorrow can still be shaped (Soysal, 2006). All things considered, Foster and Crawford (2006) insist that History textbooks are not only important for the future. He argues that “the intellectual and emotional relationship between a nation’s present, future and past is shaped through the selection, manufacture and transmission of powerful narratives”
(Foster & Crawford, 2006, p. 10). Therefore the whole textbook production process is important in determining their construction of consciousness in the minds of their users.
In an effort to participate in nation-building History textbooks tend to construct homogenous national identities with the aim of fostering a common collective memory for society (Bukh, 2007). It is Foster & Crawford’s (2006, p. 1) view that homogenous collective memory “does not aid the development of inter-cultural education.” Nevertheless, others can also produce competing national narratives and contested national identities. According to Soysal (2006), the competing identities and other similar historical controversies can be diffused if nation and identity are situated within the context of the entire continent. One example where this has been attempted is in Germany where the national aspect is almost absent in the History textbooks which foreground the European dimension (Soysal, 2006). It for this reason that Rüsen (2003) considers historical consciousness to be of vital importance if post-conflict societies are to move beyond treacherous historical controversies.
It is evident from the above arguments that in addition to the subgenre, the content in the History textbooks can be responsible for the learners’ African consciousness. One example is
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how African heroes are depicted since heroes are essential as role models for the impressionable learners. As with the issue of identity, heroes in History textbooks are usually national and their heroic feats include what they did for example against other nations.
According to Soyal (2008) German textbooks have dealt with the issue of national heroes by normalising them. The argument is that the heroes have been shown also to have weaknesses.
While some studies that speak to issues somehow related to continental consciousness have been conducted especially in Europe, their main focus is on continental identity. The two major examples are the EUROCLIO research mentioned in Chapter 1 and the related Masters study by De Visser (2007). In trying to analyse the construction of the meaning of Europe in textbooks, the following were the aspects analysed:
whether or not Europe is mentioned within the framework of the different historical topics; how often Europe is mentioned; in which contexts Europe is mentioned; which dimensions of Europe are referred to; whether information about Europe is limited to objective facts, or includes normative elements that might influence student construction of meaning towards Europe and whether Europe is presented as something positive or negative (De Visser, 2007, p. 81).
If the aspects mentioned in the quote are meant to explain how textbooks construct the meaning of Africa, it would imply that the way the History textbooks cover the same aspects on Africa and the African being would contribute to the construction of an African consciousness.
The works by Marmer, Marmer, Hitomi and Sow (2010) and Marmer and Sow (2013) reveal that several studies have been conducted on the representation of Africa in German History textbooks although they are mostly written in German, translations of which I had no access to.
In Chapter 2, I argued that identity is but one aspect of consciousness. This demonstrates a gap in research which this study set to fill. However, to appreciate the place of this study in the field of History textbook research, it is essential to have a grasp of the international and local trends.
It can be concluded in the section that the History discipline has a nature which forces History textbooks to follow a particular subgenre. Within this subgenre, many aspects such as language, visuals and the nature of narrative contribute to the consciousness that may influence the History textbook users to develop. Indeed one of the conclusions of Mazabow’s
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(2003) thesis is that “the textbook remains central to the cause of an improved historical consciousness History education” (p. 258).