LEARNING CITIZENSHIP FROM THE PAST - TEXTBOOK NATIONALISM, GLOBAL CONTEXT, AND SOCIAL-CHANGE

This introduction to the special issue frames the essays that follow i n both international and domestic political contexts. Treating textboo ks as a key form of nationalist narrative, we analyze textbooks in fiv e nations and controversies surrounding them for insights into ongoing battles over nation and citizenship. We argue, first, that changes in the global context, notably the end of the cold war, put new pressure s on national narratives. International controversy erupts when those narratives do not mesh well with the newly envisioned future. Secondly , domestic social change also forces reevaluation of established stori es of the national past because formerly subordinated groups demand in clusion of their perspectives, transforming the overall story in cruci al ways. Sometimes, as when the ''military comfort women'' are mention ed in Japanese textbooks, those two forces combine to form a profound challenge to older versions of the Japanese national story, provoking further controversy.