Event and Presentation
Karina Korostelina
Karina Korostelina
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Contested Histories in the Republic of Moldova
Event Type: Event
Tuesday March 3rd, 2015
2:30PM - 4:00PM
Metropolitan Building Room 5183
The Program on History, Memory, and Conflict is hosting Dr. Elizabeth Anderson Worden, Associate Professor at American University, who will be presenting on the "Contested Histories in the Republic of Moldova."
Contested Histories in the Republic of Moldova
Public debates about the content of history textbooks happen all over the world. How the national story is told and who is included in this story matters to politicians, scholars, educators, and the public alike. These groups believe that history textbooks are an important tool in the upbringing of a nation’s youth. Often, as in the cases of the United States or Germany, a textbook’s content, political bias, or tone is debated while the underlying tenants of a nation’s story or identity remain largely uncontested. And this is where the case of the Republic of Moldova gets interesting. In post-Soviet Moldova, recent textbook debates center on the very question of what is the Moldovan nation.
Drawing on extensive qualitative research collected over five years, I argue that Moldovan history textbooks are only a backdrop from which history teachers teach about the past. Official historical narratives—i.e. history textbooks—might not reflect the ways in which Moldovans perceive of their nation or themselves. In fact, history teachers’ social memory runs counter to the history textbooks. This memory is an amorphous yet persistent force that influences national belonging and identity, and challenges the state’s attempt to create a new nation through the teaching of history. The lessons from the Moldovan case question the importance that is placed on history textbooks. While politicians and educators across the globe are clamoring to revise history textbooks with the belief that inclusive narratives can lead to reconciliation or greater social equality, the Moldovan case reminds us that textbooks are only one part of citizenry’s understanding of their nation and its history.
Drawing on extensive qualitative research collected over five years, I argue that Moldovan history textbooks are only a backdrop from which history teachers teach about the past. Official historical narratives—i.e. history textbooks—might not reflect the ways in which Moldovans perceive of their nation or themselves. In fact, history teachers’ social memory runs counter to the history textbooks. This memory is an amorphous yet persistent force that influences national belonging and identity, and challenges the state’s attempt to create a new nation through the teaching of history. The lessons from the Moldovan case question the importance that is placed on history textbooks. While politicians and educators across the globe are clamoring to revise history textbooks with the belief that inclusive narratives can lead to reconciliation or greater social equality, the Moldovan case reminds us that textbooks are only one part of citizenry’s understanding of their nation and its history.
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