پژوهش های تاریخی (Dec 2021)
Reflection of National Components on the Content of History Textbooks in the Second Pahlavi Era: Application of Ruth Wodak’s Theory of Historical Discourse Analysis
Abstract
The establishment of the modern state in contemporary Iran brought about a fundamental change in the traditional education. The special function of the educational institution in its modern form is to reproduce and institutionalize the ideology of politics. Emphasis on the ancient history of Iran and the central role of the emperor in the Iranian political system during the reign of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi has been formulated as an external manifestation of nationalism in various studies, but the intentional injection of this ideology into the content of history textbooks has not been studied by any researcher. In the present study, from this perspective, attention has been paid to how national components are reflected in textbooks through linguistic analysis. The technique used in the linguistic analysis of the content of history textbooks in the second Pahlavi period in this research is derived from the research of Ruth Wodak (2015) in this field. She pays attention to 5 different levels of language formation stages for the formulation of scientific propositions. Therefore, this study, in the dialectic between history and ideology and power, seeks to investigate the strategies of political institutions (second Pahlavi era) in creating the text, interpretation, and the selection of historical propositions by examining the content of history textbooks according to Ruth Wodak’s approach of historical discourse analysis. Introduction From this perspective, the present study focuses on the content of history textbooks in the second Pahlavi period, because history education has a special capacity to convey national components. In this course, the subject is the study of the unique situation of Iran, which with its long-term historical background and special geographical location in the West Asian region can play a decisive role in the future of global relations. The official policy of the Pahlavi government demanded that textbooks pave the way for national integration and increase hope and confidence in the future, followed by the development of cultural and economic infrastructure, by referring to the Iranian identity past and emphasizing the antiquity of the Iranian nation. The scope of structural changes in the second Pahlavi era led to the transformation of the educational system and textbooks of different periodspublished in the textbook authoring organization, under the direct supervision of the Ministry of Culture in an integrated manner for the use of students. The central question of the present study can be posed as follows: Considering the method of Ruth Wodak in critically analyzing the discourse, what language strategies did the second Pahlavi government use to teach and promote national teachings and concepts during the content of history textbooks? The hypothesis of this research is that historiography in the history textbooks of the second Pahlavi era, following the tradition of nationalist historiography (which was more widespread), is equipped with special linguistic components to instill a specific meaning of history in the student's audience. Discussion of the history of Iran and the restoration of national identity through historical sources, as well as drawing patterns of political thought following the requirements of Iranian history, are among the new topics that have emerged in the new form of historiography in Persian and have spread to other neighboring disciplines. If modern historiography in Iran is considered to be related to the establishment of the university, the background of the nationalist discourse in the field of historiography could be equal to the establishment of the University of Tehran. Therefore, it is a contemporary phenomenon and the product of the actions of the modern government in the contemporary history of Iran. Materials and Methods: Ruth Wodak seeks to establish a structured relationship between language components by examining different linguistic units at four levels: word, sentence, paragraph, and whole text. According to him (his article entitled Historical Approach to Discourse Analysis), 4 levels (layers) of language are physically present and identifiable. These four levels are the four units of language (word, sentence, paragraph, and the whole text). She has developed a strategy or technique for identifying each language unit. But language is a fluid phenomenon, and a text does not end after the reading process is completed. Thus, here we come to the "hypertext" field of language in which the strategy of intensification/mitigation allows the researcher to identify the function of the author's mentality and subconscious and the mental perspective of the student's audience from the content of history textbooks. Ruth Wodak's approach to linguistic analysis (one of the subset methods of discourse analysis) is very similar to previous approaches, but there are features such as a special attention to history and historical background information and its application in text comprehension, leading to the formation of this new approach. It is a new type compared to previous similar examples, which is now known as historical-discourse analysis. At the level of text analysis, this approach addresses five strategies in the form of five questions: How are persons named and referred to linguistically? What traits, characteristics, qualities, and features are attributed to them? By means of what arguments and argumentation schemes do specific persons or social groups try to justify and legitimize the exclusion, discrimination, suppression, and exploitation of others? From what perspective or point of view are these labels, attributions, and arguments expressed? Are the respective utterances articulated overtly? Are they intensified or are they mitigated? Discussion of Results and Conclusions: In the present research, the ultimate goal was to formulate the relationship between the centralized sphere of power (government of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi) and the authors of history textbooks at different educational levels at that time (1332 to 1357 AD). The technique and method used to formulate this relationship has gone beyond Foucault's poststructuralism and entered the realm of critical discourse analysis. The result of applying the strategy of intensification/mitigation on the text of history textbooks was the mentality formed by the student audience from studying the content that has been changed with the previous 4 language strategies. In this context, the history of Iran in the general sense was a manifesto in defense of the rule of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi over Iran. The value of words, the presuppositions established in sentences, the lengthy arguments in different chapters and sections of the textbook, and finally the choice of an ideal perspective to watch the Shah's corrective actions prepared the student's mind to see Iranian history differently. Many authors of history textbooks in the second Pahlavi era were university professors who wrote in the paradigm of nationalist historiography (sometimes referred to as the school of University of Tehran historiography) and consciously or unconsciously the principles and criteria of the ideology of established rule were incorporated into the formulation of Iran's historical past. At the same time, it is the product of the same social institutions (universities, schools, and Iranian textbook writing organization). In other words, the hypertext formed from the history of Iran in the pen of the author and the mind of the reader was both a product of the situation and a creator of the situation. To answer the central question of the research, by examining the text of 10 history textbooks from the second Pahlavi period and applying five linguistic strategies from Ruth Wodak’s historical discourse analysis technique, it was found that the ruling apparatus in that period was to legitimize the power of Mohammad Reza Shah and support his reforms. Historical textbooks have achieved a special definition of the history of Iran, during which the "imperial system and kings of the Pahlavi family" are recognized as the basic element of "reform, progress, and development of the country". The textbooks convince the student that, according to historical experience, just as the great emperors of Iran took great steps for the development of the country before, today the kings of the Pahlavi family are in charge of the development and progress of the country. In the case of Iran, in particular, it can be said that national components are not abstract elements or outside of the concepts at the heart of Iranian history. Textbooks of the history of the second Pahlavi era used the same capacity to describe the Iranian nation as "ancient". As a result, national components can be independently transferred to the "New Iran" or "Modern Iran" project. Referential/nomination, predication, and argumentation strategies were employed at various language levels to represent the landscape of the "ancient nation of Iran" and the "institution of the protective monarchy of the nation (perspectivization/ framing strategy)". In this way, parts of history were in the spotlight and parts of it were marginalized (intensification/mitigation strategy). The product of applying these five strategies (along with each other and maintaining order) will be that students, taking into account the historical background of Iran, confirm the legitimacy of the Pahlavi dynasty and the correctness of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi's corrective actions, because, from the perspective of history textbooks, he continues the path of other great princes of Iran.
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