ABSTRACT
Guided by Fairclough’s Critical Discourse Analysis and van Leeuwen’s approaches to visual image analysis, the author analyzes the representation of the ethnic minority Nubians in Egyptian social studies textbooks. In exploring how included/excluded Nubians are within the construction of Egyptian citizens, the analysis focuses on two eras within textbooks for the academic year 2015–2016: the Ancient Egyptian–Ancient Nubian relationship; and, the contemporary era, especially after the building of the High Dam during the 1960s, which internally displaced large numbers of Nubians. The analysis shows that representations of Nubians, especially in discussing ancient Nubians, almost consistently appear within discourses of superiority and power over Nubians, while legitimating the actions over Nubians for economic and security reasons. However, the discourses around contemporary Nubians are more inclusive of them as part of constructions of Egyptian citizens and can be considered as attempts to positively represent Nubians through “mentioning” their culture, histories, and internal displacement.
