This article examines the discourse of national identity found in the newest Indonesian high school history textbooks. The problems posed are: (1) What kind of national identity discourse is produced and distributed through a history lesson in the curriculum in 2013? (2) How far the 2013 curriculum eliminates the content of the previous curriculum that discourses the history of Indonesia as ‘Western history in Indonesia’ and as ‘a warlike nation’? The approach used is a discourse analysis developed by Norman Fairclough where a text is understood as a social practice. The results show that the discourse produced in history textbooks for the curriculum 2013 has not been able to inculcate national identity to students, so they are proud to be members of Indonesian society. On the contrary, the textbooks humiliate Indonesian people by producing discourses that put the West as the superior and determinant factor and obscuring the position of Japan as an occupier. On the other hand, the textbooks negate Indonesia only as an object of their exploitation, policy, and influence. When discussing the war of independence, the textbooks highlight the role of militaristic violence and negate negotiation.
Volume 11 | 08-Special Issue
Pages: 2434-2441