Representing the October 1917 Russian Revolution in Russian School History Textbooks

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 47-63 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Zajda
Keyword(s):  
History Textbooks ◽  
Russian Revolution ◽  
Russian School ◽  
School History

Representing the Russian Revolution in Prescribed Russian School History Textbooks

2021 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 47-71
Author(s):  
Joseph Zajda
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Students ◽  
Nation Building ◽  
History Textbooks ◽  
Russian Revolution ◽  
October Revolution ◽  
Historical Understanding ◽  
Ministry Of Education ◽  
Russian School ◽  
Dominant Ideologies ◽  
Senior Secondary

This article offers a new knowledge and insight into understanding the nexus between ideologies, the state, and nation-building—as depicted in transforming images of nation-building and historical understanding of the October 1917 Russian revolution in prescribed history textbooks in the Russian Federation (RF). Using discourse analysis, and historiography, the article examines critically the role of language and ideology in presenting historical narratives in explaining how do representations of the revolution by different historians, from diverse ideological backgrounds, compared to the depiction of the October Revolution of 1917, in Russian school textbooks. Classroom teachers and historians, using historiography, interpret the 1917 October revolution in Russia in different ways. These different interpretations reflect the way in which historical understanding and historical knowledge, influenced by dominant ideologies, are created in history. Current prescribed Russian history textbooks for senior secondary students, which are approved by the Ministry of Education and Science, now regard the Russian Revolution as a significant part of a foundation narrative, representing a re-invented new meta-narrative of nation-building in the RF.

The Russian Revolution in School History Textbooks

2018 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-88
Author(s):  
Joseph Zajda ◽  
John Whitehouse
Keyword(s):  
History Textbooks ◽  
Russian Revolution ◽  
School History

Narrative Strategies Regarding Japanese Ethnic Origins and Cultural Identities in Japanese Middle-School History Textbooks

2010 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryôta Nishino
Keyword(s):  
Middle School ◽  
Ethnic Group ◽  
History Textbooks ◽  
Cultural Identities ◽  
Narrative Strategies ◽  
Long Period ◽  
School History ◽  
Middle School History ◽  
Japanese Identity ◽  
Ethnic Origins

This article examines how middle school history textbooks published between 1951 and 1995 explain the origins of the Japanese as an ethnic group (minzoku). The analysis shows that despite the relatively long period from which the sample of textbooks was taken, these texts continue to emphasize two categories of Japanese identity: a biologically heterogeneous people through prehistoric immigration and a unified language. Building on the latter theme, the textbooks continued to treat the innovation of the kana as a quintessential development underlying the Japanese cultural achievement. The analysis reveals that the narrative tone shifted from being emotive in the early 1950s texts to somewhat muted in later decades.

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