Paper short abstract:

This study investigates how national, religious, and ethnic identities are depicted in humanities and social sciences textbooks in Sudan in the context of inclusivity, power, identity, colonialism, and post-colonialism.

Paper long abstract:

With the emergence of modern states, education and textbooks became important tools in the birth and spread of nationalism, in the construction of national identity, and in defining “us” and “other”. Textbooks are one of the most critical tools in forming social memory, especially in post-conflict societies such as Sudan. This study examines how national, religious, and ethnic identities in Sudan are represented in educational materials in the context of power, identity, colonialism, and post-colonialism. As an example of comparative textbook analysis research, this study questions how educational materials marginalise and appropriate groups and define Islam and other religions. This empirical study intends to serve as a clue for a magnifying lens on the wider social perception of ingroups and outgroups and how Sudan constructs its collective memory of other nations with which it has historical and contemporary social, political, and economic relations. This applied research aims to sensitise education and raise awareness of the elements in national education systems that reinforce stereotypes and prejudices about other ethnic communities and create an opportunity to better understand and transform the image of the other in textbooks to promote mutual understanding. In adopting a cross-disciplinary approach, 45 humanities and social sciences textbooks in Sudan at the primary and secondary levels, approved by the Ministry of Education were examined. The data were analysed using the Critical Discourse Analysis method. The study reveals that Sudanese textbooks emphasise Arab identity rather than African or Sudanese through the represented leaders and reveals bias and wrong information.