Beyond binary discourses? Pakistan studies textbooks and representations of cultural, national, and global identity

Authors

  • Yaar Muhammad University of Tasmania
  • Peter Brett University of Tasmania

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21344/iartem.v7i3.743

Keywords:

Pakistan, studies, textbooks, history, identity

Abstract

Pakistan studies textbooks occupy a central role in translating curriculum imperatives into the foundational stories identified by the authorities as core knowledge for classroom transmission, and consequently in constructing Pakistani young people’s identities. The purpose of this article is to explore the content of recently-crafted Pakistan studies textbooks in the Punjab in relation to identity-related issues at a point in time when domestic circumstances, critical diagnoses of flawed textbook approaches in the late twentieth century and a dynamic international context all pushed the previously dominant theocratic/Islamic discourse of curriculum policy towards more democratic and pluralistic pathways and the possibility of ‘enlightened moderation’. The specific focus of the study is upon how textbook writers’ interpreted and enacted policy objectives
and guidelines regarding Pakistani national identity, internal ethnic and cultural diversity, and global perspectives in their writing of textbooks within the rubric of the revised 2006 secondary school Pakistan studies national curriculum.

Author Biographies

  • Yaar Muhammad, University of Tasmania

    Mr. Yaar Muhammad is a PhD Candidate in the Faculty of Education at the University of Tasmania. His thesis explores the journey of the 2006 National curriculum for Pakistan Studies in Punjab from policy to practice via a layered policy trajectory study. He was a secondary Pakistan studies teacher in Punjab for ten years and possesses university degrees in Pakistan studies, Islamic studies, and ethnic relations.
    Email: [email protected]

  • Peter Brett, University of Tasmania

    Dr. Peter Brett is a lecturer in Humanities and Social Sciences education in the Faculty of Education at the University of Tasmania. He is an experienced teacher educator with specific professional expertise in the areas of history education and civics and citizenship education and has a number of journal publications in these areas.
    Email: [email protected]

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Published

2015-12-18

Issue

Section

Peer-reviewed research articles

How to Cite

Muhammad, Y., & Brett, P. (2015). Beyond binary discourses? Pakistan studies textbooks and representations of cultural, national, and global identity. IARTEM E-Journal, 7(3), 74-101. https://doi.org/10.21344/iartem.v7i3.743