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Nationhood and Politicization of History in School Textbooks pp 17–42Cite as

Palgrave Macmillan

The Ideologization of History Education and Textbooks in Slovenia (Yugoslavia) During Socialism, 1945–1990

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Abstract

Collective historical memory results from the construction of a common past, a construction in which history textbooks play an extremely important role. They represent one of the first contacts with history for anyone who has ever attended school, and although an individual’s perspective on the past may later change, traces of them remain. In evaluating the content of history textbooks, it must not be overlooked that, more than other types of historical writing, textbooks are powerfully subject to influences from the time and environment in which they emerge. They must therefore be interpreted not only in light of what is written in them, but also what is not; what is absent is often more telling than what is present.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    For more on the relationship of communist authorities to historiography, see: Koren (2012), Najbar Agičić (2013), Režek (2014, 971–992).

  2. 2.

    ARS – Arhiv Republike Slovenije [Archives of the Republic of Slovenia], AS 1589, Box 212, Boris Ziherl, “Mesto Komunistične partije Slovenije v zgodovini slovenskega naroda” [The Place of the Communist Party of Slovenia in the History of the Slovenian People]. Ziherl’s speech was first published in Ljudska pravica, April 18, 1947.

  3. 3.

    For more on the 1958 school reform, see: Gabrič (2006a).

  4. 4.

    ARS, AS 1589, Box 189, Notes, May 13, 1966.

  5. 5.

    For more on the Yugoslav history projects, see: Najbar Agičić (2013), Režek (2014).

  6. 6.

    ARS, AS 1589, Box 167, Report on the Problems of Teaching Contemporary History, October 23, 1965, pp. 5–6, 15.

  7. 7.

    ARS, AS 1589, Box 166, Session of the History Commission of the Central Committee of the League of Communists of Slovenia, February 8, 1962, pp. 9–10.

  8. 8.

    ARS, AS 1589, Box 195, Consultation of historians – communists, June 23, 1972, p. 2.

  9. 9.

    See also: Grafenauer (1979, 2–7).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Science and Research Centre of Koper, Koper, Slovenia

    Mateja Režek

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  1. Mateja Režek
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Correspondence to Mateja Režek .

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  1. University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway

    Gorana Ognjenović

  2. Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, Oslo, Norway

    Jasna Jozelić

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Režek, M. (2020). The Ideologization of History Education and Textbooks in Slovenia (Yugoslavia) During Socialism, 1945–1990. In: Ognjenović, G., Jozelić, J. (eds) Nationhood and Politicization of History in School Textbooks. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38121-9_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-38121-9_3

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