'The Triumph of the West': American Education and the Narrative of Decolonization, 1930-1965
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| Title: | 'The Triumph of the West': American Education and the Narrative of Decolonization, 1930-1965 |
|---|---|
| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Jackson, Stephen |
| Source: | History of Education Quarterly. Nov 2018 58(4):567-594. |
| Availability: | Cambridge University Press. 100 Brook Hill Drive, West Nyack, NY 10994. Tel: 800-872-7423; Tel: 845-353-7500; Fax: 845-353-4141; e-mail: subscriptions_newyork@cambridge.org; Web site: https://journals.cambridge.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 28 |
| Publication Date: | 2018 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Evaluative |
| Descriptors: | United States History, Educational History, Foreign Policy, Nationalism, Textbooks, History Instruction, Textbook Content, Political Issues, Values, Ethnic Stereotypes |
| DOI: | 10.1017/heq.2018.31 |
| ISSN: | 0018-2680 |
| Abstract: | This article examines representations of imperialism, anti-colonial nationalism, and decolonization in US textbooks for American and World History courses between 1930 and 1965. Broadly speaking, 1930s and early 1940s texts lauded imperialism and associated European colonialism with American imperialist activities. Authors extolled the benefits for colonial peoples, including literacy, good government, and peace, and anti-colonial nationalists were caricatured as irrational and ungrateful. US global engagement during and after World War II gradually changed the narrative, particularly following Philippine independence in 1946, as texts subsequently portrayed the US as an enlightened decolonizer. Postwar textbooks tended to argue that nationalism was a product of Western ideas and that anti-colonial nationalism was a triumph for Western civilization. While constructing this narrative of the spread of Western values, textbook authors largely marginalized colonial actors, promoted unflattering and stereotyped views of Africans and Asians, and de-emphasized the extreme violence inherent in the decolonization process. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2019 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1234116 |
| Database: | ERIC |
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