REVISING THE NATION THROUGH SCHOOLING: CITIZENSHIP AND BELONGING IN SLOVAK TEXTBOOKS, 1918-2005 by Deborah L. Michaels A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Education) in The University of Michigan 2009 Doctoral Committee: Professor Jeffrey E. Mirel, Chair Professor David K. Cohen Professor Michael D. Kennedy Associate Professor Robert B. Bain © Deborah L. Michaels 2009 To Jonathan, My dragon slayer and muse ii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Attempting to express in writing the gratitude I feel to family, friends, and colleagues who helped me in completing this dissertation is as daunting in its own way as analyzing over 400 textbooks that were published over the span of nearly a century and written in a language that is not my first. I am bound to leave unnamed some individuals, but I hope they find recognition here in the encompassing spirit of my thankfulness. The last three years of dissertation work have disavowed me of the romantic image of a writer fervently working alone in a room with a view and producing magnificent works. While there were undeniably long hours spent at my desk, vital to my writing process was a network of conversations and interactions with individuals who inspired, sustained, and revitalized me in the task of ―dissertating.‖ Without these individuals, I would not have completed this work. My husband Jonathan, to whom I dedicate this study, provided critical feedback on my writing and sustained me with his cooking, household organization, insistence on days of fun, and, above all, through his enduring love in the face of an often crabby spouse. It is through Jonathan that my perspective on Central European history and politics, which had been informed by nine years of residence in the Czech Republic, became enriched by an interest in Slovakia, where Jonathan had worked and lived in the 1990s and later where he did his doctoral research. He recommended stacks of scholarly work on Slovakia that he would passionately discuss with me over meals and long walks together. iii I am also indebted to my parents. They remained supportive and loving across the years of my graduate work. They traveled multiple times to Ann Arbor to spend arduous days packing and unpacking my belongings as I changed apartments at an almost annual rate or prepared to go abroad for research. They modeled for me in their own lives the grit and humor it takes to endure. At the University of Michigan, I had the fortune of meeting esteemed scholars who engaged me in enlightening dialogues around my own research and its implications for education practices. Jeff Mirel, my faculty adviser, was unwavering in his enthusiasm and support for this project. The energy, wisdom, and time that Jeff generously and unquestioningly gave to me as his student are astounding. He embodies for me the caring, engaged demands of mentorship. In Socratic conversations over coffee at Zingerman‘s and over email when meeting in person was not possible, David K. Cohen guided me through my first understandings of nationalism theory and the role of school systems in nation-state building. Bob Bain provided my project with moorings in teacher practice and student learning. He inspired me to make connections between my international research and social studies education in the US. Bob‘s reticent faith in my scholarship buoyed me at a critical time in the dissertation process. Michael Kennedy provided a lifeline for me between my education studies program and international, interdisciplinary sources and workshops on campus. As director of either the International Institute or the Center for Russian and East European Studies for most of my years at Michigan, Michael served as my guide in navigating debates on post-socialist transitions, notions of international expertise, and the social implications of Central European history. iv In Slovakia, the scholars and friends who contributed to this work were similarly magnanimous in their generosity of time and resources. I wish to thank the Fulbright Program and the Fulbright Commission in Bratislava for providing me with the funding to analyze the textbooks represented in this study. The librarians and staff at the Slovak Pedagogical Library (Slovenská pedagogická kniţnica or SPK) guided me through their extensive collections, made hundreds of photocopies for me, and even invited me to their offices for coffee, chocolates, and companionship. In particular I would like to recognize my friends Mgr. Rozália Cenigová and Mgr. Katarína Kurillová. Erich Mistrík, the head of the Department of Aesthetic and Civic Education at the Pedagogical Faculty of Comenius University (Katedra etickej a občianskej výchovy, Pedagogické fakulta Univerzity Komenského) acted as my Fulbright sponsor; he and other colleagues in the department oriented me to the education system in the country and granted me access to a rich network of educators and policy makers in Slovakia. Zuzana Šranková, director of the Orava Project, a US-sponsored civic education initiative in Slovakia, opened her doors to me, explained the mission and programs of her organization and also introduced me to contacts in other non-governmental education organizations. I must also mention three scholars who became my dear friends and offered me the depth of their intellectual and emotional resources: Jana Nemcová, Helena Ivoríková and Marcela Andoková. In the US a collection of precious friends and exceptional scholars also buttressed my spirit and my work. James Ward and Martina Podsklanská did not shirk at my often naïve questions regarding Slovak history at the onset of my research, nor at the more complicated issues of conflicting historiography that I confronted later; rather, they were always willing to engage with me in discussions and to warmly offer up their insights. v Doyle Stevick encouraged me to join the Comparative and International Education Society, where I was ecstatic to find other education researchers working beyond the borders of the US education system. Doyle and I co-authored an article that appeared in the Journal of Curriculum Studies, v. 41 in 2009; my contribution to this article came largely from drafts of Chapter Five of my dissertation. I thank Doyle and the editors of the special issue for their valuable input into that chapter. In Michigan, Zděnka Brodská, Tara Zahra, and Kevin Deegan Kraus shared with me respectively personal memories of Czechoslovak schooling, clarifications on nationalism and identity theories, and the loan of an excellent Slovak-English dictionary and good cheer. Four fellow graduates in the School of Education were a sisterhood of mutual support throughout the dissertation process. For their friendship, humor, and faith, I thank Jane Coggshall, Ruth Isaia, Abby Jewkes, and Lauren Katz. Karin and Bob Larson eagerly offered feedback on drafts of my dissertation and with Israel, Fay, Gary, and Katie Woronoff and other family cheered my way to the end of this project. My twin, Karen DeVito, armed me with the wise mantra ―Just get it in!‖ which I will always hear in my head as she said it, with a hissed urgency and a mysterious accent. Amy Motlagh kept me sane at an insane time and place: another cherished friend found on this journey. vi PROLOGUE The National Theater In the summer of 2003, I was in Prague collecting preliminary data for my dissertation and had to travel across town. I got on Tram 22 from the castle district, and it was rather empty, as was typical on summer Sunday mornings in the Czech capital. A group of six Roma [often referred to as ―Gypsies‖] sat at the front of the tramcar. There was a space of several empty seats between the Roma and the ten non-Romani Czechs at the back of the car. The people at the front of the tram had darker complexions and hair than the other people in the car; yet, in terms of dress, they blended in, wearing subdued colors, jeans or casual skirts, button-down shirts or t-shirts like the other travelers on the tram. The group at the front of the car was talking. Their voice level was moderate, but the people at the back of the tram were dead silent, so the conversation in front drew attention. The six people at the front were speaking Romany—a language that is based in Sanskrit, reflecting the migration patterns of Roma out of India over a millennium ago. The tram took a sharp turn down from the castle district toward the center of town. The group at the front of the tram continued to speak Romany among themselves. An ethnic Czech man seated across from me near the back of the tram began to grumble. This man, who appeared to be in his 70s, leaned toward the woman seated in front of him, presumably his wife, and whispered to her. He looked up occasionally to shoot vii hard glances at the group at the front of the tram. After much fidgeting, the older man aimed a loud and airy ―Shhhhh!‖ toward the front. One of the younger Romani men turned around in his seat and looked back at the old man and said, switching from the Romany language to Czech, ―Co?‖ [―What?‖], his brow wrinkled and his mouth down-turned. The old ethnic Czech man then responded, ―Co si myslíte? Ţe jste doma?‖ [―What are you (formal form) thinking? That you are at home?‖] The younger man retorted in a louder voice than before and in slightly accented but fluent Czech, ―Well, we are at home here. This is our home. We are Czechs. Do you think we shouldn‘t be at home here?‖ After a brief pause, the young Romani man urged the old man to respond, ―Huh? Huh?‖ he asked.