The normalization of political violence in history textbooks. Ten narrative keys.

Autor/in	Bermúdez, Ángela
Institution	Historical Dialogues, Justice, and Memory Network
Titel	The normalization of political violence in history textbooks. Ten narrative keys.
Quelle	[New York]: Historical Dialogues, Justice, and Memory Network (2019), 22 S. PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei (1); PDF als Volltext kostenfreie Datei (2) Link als defekt meldenVerfügbarkeit
Reihe	Dialogues on Historical Justice and Memory Network Working Paper Series. 15
Beigaben	Literaturangaben S. 16-22
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	online; Monografie
Schlagwörter	Gewalt; Bildungswesen; Schulbuch; Geschichtsunterricht; Narrativ (Sozialwissenschaften); Kolumbien; Spanien; USA
Abstract	This paper synthesizes the findings of an international study on the role of history education in fostering or hindering a critical understanding of political violence. The study conducted thematic and discursive analyses of history textbook narratives in Colombia, Spain, and the United States. Analysis focused on how textbook narratives represented the violence intrinsic to nine different episodes of the violent past of these societies. The findings of the study revealed a persistent pattern: despite the abundant references to violent events, violence as such is rarely discussed or made the object of explicit analysis. Quite the contrary, violence is normalized through discursive processes that define what is emphasized and what is marginalized, what is connected and disconnected, and what is silenced. The author identifies ten narrative features that describe interlocking mechanisms by which historical accounts manage to describe violent events and processes while precluding any reflection about its roots, causes, consequences and alternatives. These features are conceptualized as ten narrative keys that normalize violence. The author draws on Galtung's concept of cultural violence to discuss the role of these narrative keys in making violence acceptable. The paper concludes with the proposition that a critical examination of how school history normalizes violence can also shed light on how to revert this process, opening opportunities for critical reflection about the violent past that helps to de-normalize violence.
Erfasst von	Leibniz-Institut für Bildungsmedien \| Georg-Eckert-Institut (GEI), Braunschweig
Update	2026/3