ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the educational construction of the nation through the emerging primary school system, from the patriotic nation-building of the 19th century to the Nordic textbook revisions of the interwar period, discussing whether schooling and specifically the subjects of history and geography served different political aims in the two eras. The hypothesis of change from national patriotism toward Nordicism is explored step by step: focusing on the relation between constitutional and educational reforms—the “educationalization” of the nation; analyzing the grand narrative “naturalized” through the school subjects of history and geography; and looking at the epoch-making Nordic interwar history textbook revision work and its historiography.
The general thesis is that the Norwegian case illustrates that history narratives and geography maps played a key role in the patriotic formation of national citizenry. The Norwegian “Noregr” map (1894) powerfully imprinted land lost as a “national phantom limb map” into the collective memory, illustrating the political imperative antagonism of the patriotic project and era. Contested Questions in the History of Norden (1940) revealed new political aspirations and historiography. These examples illuminate narratological and mnemonic implications of re-narration, peacebuilding efforts and reconciliation in post conflict areas and the mnemonic power of nation-building and nationalism.
