Designing History in East Asian Textbooks: Identity Politics and Transnational Aspirations

This book analyses the efforts throughout East Asia to deploy education for purposes of political socialization, and in particular in order to shape notions of identity. Written by a group of international education experts chapters discuss the enduring focus on the role of curricula in inculcating homogenous visions of the national self, and indeed homogenized visions of significant others. The book also looks at the alternative approaches to textbook design, including the new trend of common textbook initiatives which operate with the aim of defusing the tensions that mutual representation have tended to fuel. It also breaks new ground in the alaysis of East Asias textbook wars by including contributions from scholars and curriculum developers involved in writing national and multi-national history textbooks.