History Education in Schools in Turkey and Armenia A Critique and Alternatives Authors: Alişan Akpınar, Sos Avetisyan, Hayk Balasanyan, Fırat Güllü, Işıl Kandolu, Maria Karapetyan, Nvard V. Manasian, Lilit Mkrtchyan, Elif Aköz Özkaya, Hasan Tahsin Özkaya, Garine Palandjian, Ararat Şekeryan, Ömer Turan Editors: Bülent Bilmez, Kenan Çayır, Özlem Çaykent, Philip Gamaghelyan, Maria Karapetyan, Pınar Sayan Istanbul June 2017 Yerevan History Education in Schools in Turkey and Armenia A Critique and Alternatives Authors: Alişan Akpınar, Sos Avetisyan, Hayk Balasanyan, Fırat Güllü, Işıl Kandolu, Maria Karapetyan, Nvard V. Manasian, Lilit Mkrtchyan, Elif Aköz Özkaya, Hasan Tahsin Özkaya, Garine Palandjian, Ararat Şekeryan, Ömer Turan Editors: Bülent Bilmez, Kenan Çayır, Özlem Çaykent, Philip Gamaghelyan, Maria Karapetyan, Pınar Sayan Istanbul and Yerevan 2017 © History Foundation (Tarih Vakfı) and Imagine Center for Conflict Transformation This publication was prepared using Microsoft Office Word and the cover page design and image belongs to Microsoft Office. This publication has been produced with the assistance of the European Union, within the framework of the programme Support to the Armenia-Turkey Normalisation Process: Stage Two. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the History Foundation (Tarih Vakfı) and its partner the Imagine Center for Conflict Transformation and can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Union. www.armenia-turkey.net One of the workshops that made this publication possible was funded by the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung. www.fes.de i The History Foundation is a non-governmental organization working in the public interest with the objective of developing and extending history consciousness in Turkey. It aims at enriching and lending a new content to the way in which people regard history and at encouraging the conservation of the variety of historical heritage with a deep-rooted sensitivity and active participation of wide sections of the population. www.tarihvakfi.com, [email protected] The Imagine Center for Conflict Transformation (Imagine Center) is an independent, non-political organization that is dedicated to positively transforming relations and laying foundations for lasting and sustainable peace in conflict-torn societies. www.imaginedialogue.com, [email protected] ii Contents ABOUT THE AUTHORS AND EDITORS ..................................................................................................................... 1 PREFACE TO THIS PUBLICATION ............................................................................................................................. 5 PAPER 1. ANALYSIS OF HISTORY EDUCATION MODELS AND HISTORICAL NARRATIVES IN SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS IN ARMENIA AND TURKEY .......................................................................................................................................... 8 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................................... 8 PART 1. ANALYSIS OF HISTORY EDUCATION MODELS AND HISTORICAL NARRATIVES IN SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS IN TURKEY ................... 11 1.1 Background and Politics of History Education in Turkey ............................................................................... 11 1.2 Current History Education Curriculum and Textbooks in Turkey ................................................................... 16 1.3 Discourse Analysis of History Textbooks in Turkey ........................................................................................ 22 1.4 Untold Stories: Patterns of Omissions of Her Story in the Hi(s)Story Textbooks in Turkey ........................... 30 1.5 Analysis of Teaching Guidelines and Methodologies in “Teaching Programs” and Textbooks ..................... 35 CONCLUSION TO PART 1 ................................................................................................................................................ 40 PART 2. ANALYSIS OF HISTORY EDUCATION MODELS AND HISTORICAL NARRATIVES IN SCHOOL TEXTBOOKS IN ARMENIA ................. 42 2.1 Background and Politics of History Education in Armenia ............................................................................ 42 2.2 Current History Education Curriculum and Textbooks in Armenia ................................................................ 45 2.3 Discourse Analysis of History Textbooks in Armenia ..................................................................................... 50 2.4 Untold Stories: Patterns of Omissions of Her Story in the Hi(s)Story Textbooks in Armenia ......................... 58 2.5 Analysis of Teaching Guidelines and Methodologies in “Subject Standards”, “Teacher Manuals”, and Textbooks ............................................................................................................................................................ 63 CONCLUSION TO PART 2 ................................................................................................................................................ 67 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................................... 69 PAPER 2. GUIDING PRINCIPLES TOWARDS AN ALTERNATIVE UNDERSTANDING OF HISTORY EDUCATION .......... 72 INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................................................................ 72 PART 1. GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR HISTORY TEXTBOOK PRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT ......................................................... 74 1.1 Textbook Development, Production, and Approval Models Around the World ............................................ 74 1.2 Recommendations for the Cases of Turkey and Armenia ............................................................................. 76 PART 2. GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR THE CONCEPT AND ROLE OF HISTORY EDUCATION AND TEACHING METHODOLOGIES .................. 81 2.1 Towards a De-ideologized and Re-politicized History Education .................................................................. 81 2.2 Overcoming the Omniscient Single Voice in Favor of Multiple Voices and Perspectives .............................. 83 2.3 Addressing Nationalism in History Education ............................................................................................... 86 2.4 Addressing Militarism in History Education .................................................................................................. 88 2.5 Moving from Essentialism to Social Constructivism ...................................................................................... 88 2.6 Towards Diverse Ways of Conceptualizing Time and Space ......................................................................... 90 2.7 Teaching the Method of History ................................................................................................................... 93 2.8 Finding the Balance Between Contextualization and Isolation of Histories .................................................. 95 2.9 Approaches to the Language of History Education ....................................................................................... 96 2.10 Going Beyond the Textbook as the All-encompassing Source ..................................................................... 98 2.11 Teaching Political History Beyond Political Elites and Wars and Teaching Social, Cultural, and Everyday History ................................................................................................................................................................. 99 2.12 Teaching Local Histories ............................................................................................................................ 100 iii CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................................................... 101 POSTSCRIPT ....................................................................................................................................................... 103 APPENDIX: A PARALLEL PERSPECTIVE ON NARRATIVES ABOUT THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE AND THE CAUCASUS FRONT IN THE FIRST WORLD WAR IN HISTORY TEXTBOOKS IN ARMENIA AND TURKEY ..................................... 104 ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ..................................................................................................................... 114 ANALYZED TEXTBOOKS AND TEACHER MANUALS.............................................................................................. 115 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................................................................................................................................... 116 iv History Education in Schools in Turkey and Armenia: A Critique and Alternatives About the Authors and Editors Alişan Akpınar received his Master’s from the History Department of Istanbul University with his thesis on “The Tribal School in the Ottoman State” (“Osmanlı Devleti’nde Aşiret Mektebi”). He is currently studying “The Kurdish issue in the Ottoman state in the 19th century”. He is also a history teacher in Tepeören Anatolian High School of Terakki Foundation Schools. Ararat Şekeryan studied Russian Language and Literature at Istanbul University and Pushkin Institute in Moscow. Between 2006-2014, he worked as an editor and