ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses Greek-Turkish relations in class with Turkish and Greek University students. It argues that unless the mechanisms of nationalism are understood it is highly unlikely that national stereotypes will be transcended. The content of the education of the parents' generation provides a window not only to the kind of environment Greeks and Turks were exposed to in their youth at school, but also to the kind of home environment the student generation encountered. The textbooks of both countries show how nation-states strive to create a national consciousness by glorifying what is considered ours and discrediting what is considered theirs. On the Turkish side, the close link between the negative image of the other and nationalism becomes apparent in the next generation of authors and the Turkish nationalist novels. Women play a special role in nationalistic discourse. They do not directly participate in the inter-ethnic fighting and are, therefore, perceived as being able to indicate the righteous side.
