Convergence and divergence: Depictions of indigenous peoples in secondary school history textbooks from Brazil and Norway
Peer reviewed, Journal article
Published version
Date
2024Metadata
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Original version
Research in Comparative and International Education. 2023, 1-20. 10.1177/17454999231216653Abstract
This study explores and compares the ways in which indigenous peoples are depicted in current secondary school history textbooks in Brazil and Norway. This study seeks to show both convergence and divergence in narrative patterns by employing qualitative data analysis. Convergence is found, in particular, in: the mandatory inclusion of the topic of indigenous peoples in national curricula; school textbooks describe these groups as homogeneous groups and ethnic minorities that still suffer discrimination and exclusion. Regarding divergence, we highlight that: the definition of indigenous peoples is context dependent. In Brazil, textbooks are explicit regarding violence, while the Norwegian ones provide minimal descriptions of it; in Brazilian textbooks, indigenous peoples are depicted as part of the Brazilian society, both victims and agents of their destiny, while the Norwegian ones depicted them as “the other” and focused on their victimization. The article reflects on the social implications of these narrative patterns for these groups.
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This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).