CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2023
| Author | Uzunova, Aurelija |
|---|---|
| Title | Are We a Nation or State; What's the State of Our Nation? Macedonian and Bulgarian National History Textbook Discourses |
| Summary | Contesting national history discourses in North Macedonia and Bulgaria are a defining characteristic of the countries’ bilateral relations. Attempts to revise those discourses as an effort to improve neighborly relation materialized in 2017 the creation of a Joint History Commission, tasked with the scientific interpretation of historical events based on authentic historical sources and creating a more coherent historical narrative. To date, no revisions have been made, and the progress and work of the commission have not been made public. Yet backlash against textbook revision remains as strong as ever. In light of this stalemate, and in hopes to better understand opposition to educational reform, this thesis aims to present a comparative analysis of the Macedonian and Bulgarian historical discourses between the second half of the 19th century and the end of the Second World War using the method of Critical Discourse Analysis. The results point to the significant constructive power of national historiographies in textbooks. The insights on the way discursive strategies are used simultaneously to construct identities, assign or remove legitimacy to/from historical narratives and claims; and (in)validate group actions provide a contribution to the underdeveloped field of interdisciplinary textbook research, and highlight the need for further research in the Macedonian-Bulgarian context. |
| Supervisor | Kovacs, Andras |
| Department | Nationalism Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2023/uzunova_aurelija.pdf |
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