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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.
1.2 Research Questions
This study will address three main questions:
1. How do the national origin narratives in ROC and USA history textbooks compare to each other through Joseph Campbell’s (2004) monomyth framework?
2. What values are implicit in the two national origin narratives when analyzed through the monomyth?
3. What implications about nationalism in the ROC and USA can be drawn from this analysis of national origin narratives?
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國立 政 治 大 學
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The first question will be addressed through examination of the national origin narratives in the ROC and USA as they are presented in the two textbooks subjected to this study. The analysis of the ROC textbook will focus primarily on its portrayal of the Chinese Revolution of 1911, as well as the chapters around it secondarily. In the American textbook, the primary focus will be on the narrative of the Revolutionary War. Secondarily, the chapters just before and after those dealing with the war may be examined for their contribution to the primary narrative. It should be noted that although the ROC has a clear national origin narrative, the national identity of the ROC and its citizens is fiercely debated, even in history curriculum, (Chen, 2004). Some consider the history of Taiwan to be inseparable from the ROC, while others argue that the history of Taiwan is that of a unique nation, independent from a Chinese historical narrative. These narratives are at odds in textbooks in the ROC, (Chang, 2011). The Chinese Revolution of 1911 was chosen for this study because the narrative associated with an independent and unique Taiwanese history is not fully developed. The freedom to entertain this idea has only been possible since the late-1980s, as the ROC began to democratize, and there is not currently a coherent national origin narrative for Taiwan which doesn’t include the narrative of the ROC, (Chen, 2004).
The second and third research questions will have three important implications.
First, subtle variances in the portrayal of each character archetype and narrative stage will reveal values presented by the narrative. If, for example, the archetypical hero of the narrative is seen praying or giving honor to God, this indicates that piety is presented as a desirable character trait. If, on the other hand, the hero is presented as being motivated by personal honor, this would indicate that individualism is highly valued by the narrative.
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Understanding how these values are promoted through national origin narratives should inform the strategies involved in creating and implementing national history curriculum.
Second, characteristics of each country’s nationalism are promoted through the portrayal of the narrative stages and character archetypes in the two narratives. This is especially true of the two countries in question, as both have diverse ethnic, religious, and cultural identities within them. If the cast of characters within the narrative comes from a variety of ethnic backgrounds, communities who identify with those ethnicities today may more easily see themselves as a valued member of the national community. For example, there is practically no opportunity to include Muslim characters in the national origin narrative of the USA, but there are currently nearly 3.5 million US citizens who identify as Muslim, (Pew Research Center, 2017). In order to create a bridge between Muslim and American nationalism, an inclusive strategy should be employed within or around the narrative.
Third, if the monomythic narrative stages and character archetypes are reflected significantly in both national origin narratives, it is evidence that nationalism in the ROC and USA take on a sacred significance. This has been argued from other perspectives by many, (Stevens, 1997), (Smith, 2000), and is contrary to the popular assertion that the ROC and USA are ‘secular’ nations, or that the secular is opposed to the sacred. Instead, it may be that nationalism fills a similar role in society as religion. Further research is needed on this subject, but significant congruency between the national origin narratives of the ROC and USA and the monomyth would provide evidence to support the idea that nations play a religious role in modern societies.
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