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the monomythic framework to analyze and compare them. This study seeks to compare the national origin narratives of the Republic of China (ROC) and the United States (USA) through Campbell’s (2004) monomyth framework.
This chapter will introduce this study in four sections. First, it will identify the five main rationale behind this study. Section two introduces the two main research questions guiding the study, followed by a brief discussion of their significance and implications.
Section three will briefly introduce the research design for this study, which will be explicated in greater detail in chapter three. Section four will define key terms that will appear throughout the study.
1.1 Rationale of Study
This study will analyze the national origin narratives of the ROC and the USA using Campbell’s (2004) monomyth. The rationale for this research can be summarized in six points:
First, public debate over national origin narratives in history textbooks often misrepresents those narratives as perfectible and representative of a verifiable truth, which they are not, (Raphael, 2004). Generally, contemporary historians try to be as impartial as they can, and effort is made to represent all the interests and actors as accurately as possible, but there is inevitably a purpose for studying history, a lesson to be learned imposed by the historian. They typically overrepresent dominant social groups and the culture and time which produced them, (White, 2008). While some verifiable facts are used others are inevitably omitted in the narrative-writing process, creating a bias view of national history.
Bias in history is a chronic concern, especially in school textbooks, (Romanowski, 1996), and national origin narratives in history textbooks taught as historical fact have been
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deliberately used to promote exclusive national identities and enforce national agendas. In many countries that persists today, (Manojlovic, 2018).
Second, national origin narratives are significant in terms of nationalism, national values, and nationalism itself. Nationalism appeals to many so deeply that it even has the potential to inspire one to sacrifice his or her life, (Anderson, 1991). Representation of national origin narratives in schools, which is typically standardized in national textbooks, is therefore hotly contested, and it is often manicured and polished until it shines with mythological grandeur. This level of significance merits a concerted effort to craft national narratives which are deliberate and thoughtful about what values they encourage. They should make efforts to include and harmonize the various identities (ethnic, religious, gender, etc.) within nations. A static narrative, however, is unlikely to satisfy the diverse and dynamic set of identities in modern nations, so in order to thrive in their communities, their nations, and their world, students need to recognize and question the values, identities, and types of nationalism they are encouraged to adopt through these narratives.
Third, evidence that national origin narratives follow a structure and archetypical pattern similar to those in myths and religions indicates that recent attempts to remove narrative and portray history as if it was purely empirical are misguided. Narratives are tools by which we can make sense of the past in our contemporary lives, and although they are often bias, acknowledging that they are malleable empowers the citizens of a nation to address that bias productively, and find their individual place in the national community.
Many history textbook publishers in the USA have attempted to remove narratives in favor of a dry, accounting of events, figures, and dates. This attempt to remove any violation of taboos held by the many religious, ethnic, racial, cultural, and economic groups of a nation,
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(Ravitch, 2003) are squandering students’ opportunity to address difficult social issues in the safe, structured environment of a classroom.
Fourth, narratives in high school textbooks often pander to the values of louder voices and larger markets, (American textbook producers target audiences in Texas and California, for example) which has the effect of sidelining many of the smaller voices in the national narrative. High school history textbooks are an important part of social development and can be either a force for social harmony through inclusive national narratives, or it can aggrandize one group at the expense of villainized or dehumanized others, (Manojlovic, 2018). If the extent to which national origin narratives are bias is identified more precisely, an effort this study aims to contribute to, it will enable educators, textbook producers, and educational researchers to more effectively mitigate bias.
Fifth, Campbell’s (2004) monomyth narrative structure is ideal for this study because it is applicable human narratives across cultures and time periods. The structure has been adapted to analyze everything from folk tales to religious dogma, and through it values implicit in the narratives can be revealed and analyzed. Furthermore, the monomyth is a narrative analysis structure, and the narrative of national origins is precisely what this study aims to analyze, not the fidelity of the historical facts in the textbooks. If the two national origin narratives reveal structural and archetypical patterns common to the monomyth, and therefore to myths and religious dogma, it will support the idea that they may hold a sacred place in society.
Lastly, high school history textbooks were chosen as the subject of this comparative discourse analysis because they contain a sufficient amount of text-based content to analyze, while still being a part of the public education system. College-level history texts
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are not available to the whole population, and therefore their narratives are not as influential on society. Texts from lower grade levels often contain significantly less text in favor of graphical and instructional content. High school textbooks are also instrumental in determining what topics are covered and how they are presented to students, (Behnke, 2018) making their narratives and content an appropriate subject for this study.
Acknowledgement of the mythologization of national origin narratives empowers learners with underrepresented historical identities to “write in” the role of their identities in the existing national narrative using supplementary sources in addition to the textbook.
This study seeks to provide evidence that, indeed, the national origin narratives of the ROC and USA do exhibit characteristics common among myths, legends, and religions. The implications of these findings are expected to inform educators, textbook producers, and educational researchers concerned with national history education in the ROC, the USA, and around the world.