The Politics of Writing History: Historians' Debates and High-School History Teaching in Post-Socialist Romania
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Politikon: IAPSS Political Science Journal Vol. 22, March 2014 The politics of writing history: historians' debates and high-school history teaching in post-socialist Romania Sergiu DELCEA16, Central European University, Budapest Abstract fter exhibiting one of the "hottest" instances of ethno-national related violence in all post-socialist transitions, early 90s Romanian society seemed to have "cooled" down in terms identitarian conflicts, hence making it even more surprising why an apparently small-scale debate concerning history Atextbooks quickly spiraled to the point of becoming a fully-fledged public scandal against a Government dubbed as "Anti-Romanian". The aim of this paper is thus to contribute to the overarching research question: Why did nationalism remain such a powerful force despite the fall of the Ceausescu regime? To provide a comprehensive answer the article looks at two, tightly interwoven, sides of cultural reproduction: the politics of history-teaching in Romanian high-schools and its more general background - historians' debates on nationalism. The conclusion reached through this analysis is that a conservation of ethno- centered nationalistic thinking about history was generated by a distorted understanding of professionalization of history qua science. 16 Sergiu Delcea is a second year MA student in the Nationalism Studies Programme, Central European University, Budapest, with a previous background in Political Science (graduated BA studies in 2012) from the University of Bucharest. He is currently a member of the editorial board for the IAPSS blog A Different View, where he is exploring his current research interests that revolve around linking nation-building processes and welfare-regime construction (with a focus on Eastern Europe). 45 Politikon: IAPSS Political Science Journal Vol. 22, March 2014 been a liberalization of historical research and historiography in the post-socialist setting, the nation-building inner logic, so he sweeping events of Eastern dear to communist state-makers, is still very T much preserved. While the old historians are Europe in 1989 were intuitively expected to preserving it via the classical proxy of anti- bring a sharp break with the past and all its Hungarian rhetoric (and the age-old of myth "obsolete" elements: centralized economies, of Romania protecting the "West"), the new monolithic Party rule and rampant ethno- wave of "de-mystifying" historians have nationalism. Interestingly enough though fallen to the other extreme of considering post-socialist transitions seemed to be more Romanian history purely as a succession of complex than this envisaged one-way road, national myths (with the apparent aim of with societal cohesion towards the goal of creating a quasi-void on which a more re-uniting with the "West" being oftentimes European identity might be built - obviously, questioned. Naturally, in such a scenario, still identity-building!). To be precise, I am cultural reproduction remains an important not arguing that the presence of some form element of stability and of nationalism is the central cause of cohesion(Paraianu:2001, 111 in Trencsenyi Romanian laggard transition (Petrescu:2001 et al. (eds):2001). What follows logically is in Trencsenyi et al (eds):2001). What I will that perceptions of the past and more argue throughout this paper is that the importantly, their massification, via history outward liberalization of Romanian teaching are put in a very intricate position. historiography is still done under the old The aim of this paper is to focus on template of "historia magistra vitae" post-socialist Romania, trying to contribute a (Iggers:2010, 35-36) which entails a clear possible answer to a huge over-arching instrumentalization. This idea is perfectly question: Why did nationalism remain such a caught by Dumitru Nalin who argues that powerful force despite the fall of the Ceausescu the core of the problem lies in the use of regime? The intuitive consequence foreseen discourses about the philosophy of history by many was that the oppressive ethno- in a debate that was intended to be political centric discourse of the Ceausescu regime (Nalin:2002, 44). The consequence of this would generate a backlash effect of continuation of patterns is that nationalism complete refutation towards manifestations in post-1990s Romania was perpetuated (at of nationalism. Much to the contrary, least in part) by a lack of modernization of Romania seemed to exhibit a continuation history as a science. of strong nationalist feelings (the violent Structurally I will divide the paper events of Targu Mures are most often into two main parts: an analysis of the 2000 quoted in this line of thought). Despite the alternative textbook scandal and a widening fact that violence occurred only in this of the discussion through the debate singular event, the huge scandal prompted between the "old guard" historians and the by alternative history textbooks in the late new "de-mystyfiers"17. Certainly, the second 90s showed clearly that Romanian policy part cannot be fully mapped in the narrow makers were still very much attached to older interpretations of history, which were 17To be clear, I am not arguing that all Romanian used to draw popular attachment and historians fall into this model. What I am arguing is legitimacy. that on a large scale (i.e. mass-media and non- Using this example, I will expand the university school-teaching) this is the fundamental discussion and analyze the broader topic of divide. As noted by Paraianu in the early 2000s when the original textbook scandal erupted Western historical myth-making as a basis for academic debates about Romanian history were not identity-building in post-socialist Romania. very well integrated into the Romanian academia My main argument is that although there has thus making it methodologically sound to analyze the divide I have selected. 46 Politikon: IAPSS Political Science Journal Vol. 22, March 2014 confines of this paper (for in-depth analysis roots pressures for reforms tended to focus Iordachi&Trencsenyi:2003, 415-453) and more on the quantitative side (i.e. therefore I will focus on the debates spurred refurnishing schools, heating systems etc.) up by Lucian Boia and his followers, and the rather than on fundamental epistemological rather recent critique put forward by a group issues. History-teaching reform in Eastern of University Babes-Bolyai of Cluj lead by Europe followed three important Ioan-Aurel Pop (member of the Romanian dimensions: ideological reconsideration, Academy). It feels methodologically sounds lightening the syllabus and teacher to do this selection because Prof. Boia's innovation (Nalin:2002, 41). In the works have been best-sellers (albeit not following, I will attempt to analyze the first instantly in some cases), achieving this status two criteria in the context of the Romanian by taking a controversial stand on topics text-book scandal, which escalated almost such as Romanian national history and instantaneously from a scholarly debate into nationalism in general. Interestingly enough, a fully-fledged political scandal where the despite having originally been published opposition labeled the Government as before the 1999 textbook scandal, Boia's opus having "Anti-Romanian feelings". This had not achieved public notoriety until then. scandal highlights that despite its outward Certainly, any direct link cannot be inferred liberalization the post 1989 Romanian non- but this intertwining does point towards a university education system still aimed at clear tendency. mass-producing the communist creed of "good Romanian citizens with a love of country and past"(Nalin:2002, 43) The main point of contention in these early attempts at The alternative textbook scandal - What reforming the system was the introduction image of the nation is the Romanian of alternative text-books for final year high- educational system disseminating? school students, which were supposed to focus exclusively on Romanian national history. One interesting side-note must be According to Brubaker, the tendency made here: within the Romanian education to view the nation as incomplete makes the framework study of national history is state adopt an active political stance reserved for the last year of the high-school (Brubaker:1996, 63). After the abrupt fall of studies, which overwhelmingly overlaps with the Ceausescu regime, the Romanian policy- the age of vote-right acquisition. Although a makers were faced with the daunting direct link is not easily measurable, there challenge of re-structuring an obsolete seems to be an intricate underlying logic educational system, which was mass- between a particular way of understanding producing obedience towards a unitary Romanian history and the transformation of teleological vision of the "socialist nation" students into "good" citizens. (Petrescu:2007 in The first major shock came as a Jarausch&Lindenberger:2007). The early result of Romania's efforts to join the EU, reforming of this system was a tenuous namely the late 90s-early 2000s European process, torn between the need for a new recommendation of moving towards approach and the overwhelming mass of liberalized history teaching emphasizing the personnel inherited from communism. European dimension of regional evolutions. History-teaching continued to be rather In the autumn of 1999, historian Sorin Mitu monolithic: while certain aberrations were was publicly scorn by the opposition parties abandoned, the core teleology and