Narratives of Immigration and National Identity: Findings from a Discourse Analysis of German and U.S. Social Studies Textbooks

Abstract

Following the tradition of discourse analysis, this article examines representations of two narratives of immigration in U.S. and German social studies textbooks: the ideas of the United States as a nation of immigrants and of Germany as a (non-)immigration country. Textbooks are of particular importance in this regard, as they contain one of the few quasi-official formulations of national selfunderstandings. Among the most crucial findings is that in Germany, the country's decade-old self-denial of its status as a country of immigration is no longer a tenable official position, but, at the same time, the conscious self-identification as an immigration country has not yet profoundly reshaped German national identity. In the United States, on the other hand, the clichéd self-designation as a 'nation of immigrants' has not lost its appeal as a rhetorical device and grand narrative of national history, but seems increasingly anachronistic with regard to the country's broader immigration discourse.

“We don’t do that in Germany!” A critical race theory examination of Turkish heritage young adults’ school experiences

“…This racialized understanding of belonging has also been examined through analyses of textbooks focusing on how immigrants are depicted (Niehaus et al., 2015) and whether Germany is portrayed as a country of immigration (Kotowski, 2013). In each study, the authors found stereotypical, essentialist portrayals of immigrants, often focusing only on problems from a white German perspective.…”

Revealing a hidden curriculum in educational discourses: A study of the representation of Europe and Asia in Spanish and Japanese school textbooks

“…An 'us' and 'them' opposition is created between several social groups, such as the First World group (Morales and Lischinsky, 2008), ethnic groups (Soler Castillo, 2008) and gender groups (Ujihara, 1997). And, of course, the nation plays an important role in defining 'our' group in school textbooks (Kotowski, 2013). School textbooks usually follow the national official curriculum and are used nationwide.…”

“…and offers a critique of discourse as a way into a wider critique of social reality (Fairclough, 2017: 13). For example, in a comparative study about national self-definition in US and German Social Studies textbooks, Kotowski (2013) observed that, in the United States, narrative within textbooks mirrors the socially repeated idea of the United States as a ‘nation of immigrants’, whereas in German textbooks this conscious self-definition as an immigration country has not yet become firmly consolidated. Soler Castillo (2008) pointed out that in Colombian Social Science textbooks Afro-Colombians are not visible, while the indigenous are more present, and that the national identity is shaped from ethnocentrism from White and mestizo.…”

Asserting the Nation: The Dominance of National Narratives in Policy Influencers’ Constructions of Higher Education Students

“…Within education research, 'national narratives' are most commonly discussed with respect to curricula and textbooks, arguing that the knowledge taught in schools is often selected to promote a particular view of the nation-state (e.g. Kotowski, 2013). Such perspectives articulate with a larger body of work, across the arts and social sciences, which explores the ways in which national narratives are formed and the functions they serve in wider society.…”