When Elizabeth Herman visited his old school high, Newton South, a few years ago, was surprised to find that their textbooks for the new story that includes sections on 9 / 11. Wondering how he got his textbooks in other countries describe the events of September 11, and eventually became the subject of his thesis project at Tufts University, graduating in 2010.
Now with a Fulbright scholarship, Herman continues his research on how 11.09 is taught worldwide. So far, examined textbooks from 13 countries. When Herman spoke this week with WBUR all things considered host Sacha Pfeiffer, said he has found the country's relationship with the U.S. often influences how it is taught on 9 / 11.
Elizabeth Herman: If the country's relationship with the United States was a little tense, which saw a much more critical of the United States. For example, I had the opportunity to review textbooks in Brazil, India and China, and in those three countries relations with the United States are a little tense. These are referred to the audacity of the United States and its post-9/11 actions and the illegality of the war, specifically the war in Iraq.
Sacha Pfeiffer: What we find in the textbooks published in Islamic countries?
In the textbooks in Islamic countries attention on the assailants was quite different. In Pakistan, the textbooks completely omitted the identity of the assailants. Thus, in the United States and Western countries, is that attackers are talking about Islamic fundamentalists. They are identified as such, while Pakistani textbook says: "The September 11, 2001, American Trade Center and other strategic places were attacked by unidentified terrorists." In Turkey only omitted their identity as Muslims.
What country has 9.11 more different to the way the U.S. occur?
I would say the country with more than 9.11 would otherwise be China. They mostly talked about 9 / 11 as a sign of declining U.S. hegemony - and that's not what you see in American textbooks. You see 9.11 is spoken in American textbooks as a sign of America being attacked and having come together.
You find that sometimes were not different words used in different textbooks that seemed subtle differences, but believed that they were significant. For example, describing 9 / 11 as an "incident" rather than an "attack". How did you hear that made the difference?
I think that is what is at the heart of it all. Is that when you are thinking about how a story is told, one could imagine that a word chosen or replaced by another would not make much difference. But when you take all these small changes, you get a sound that is very well defined. For example, in the way described those who executed the attacks of 9 / 11, if they are called "attackers", or if they are called "robbers" or called "people" has a connotation different and creates a very different picture in mind when you're reading this book.
Why do you think is important that students are getting different perspectives?
This is one of the first generations that the textbooks have an event that happened less than a decade in writing textbooks and history, this is new. And that kind of speed with the return current in history I think it really changes the way the next generation will see these events and discussed. And I think that if students grow up with completely politicized views of these events, then it could reach a lot of problems.
Do you think there ever really an official version of events? It always changes depending on where you live and what your political point of view?
Of course. And I think there is no right to teach 11.09. I think the best thing to do is provide as many perspectives as possible and help students learn to synthesize the tales themselves.
And that is your goal, I believe: take all the different versions I found, and create a curriculum that presents all points of view.
That's exactly right. You know, I originally proposed this project thinking that I might arrive at the best way to teach this in schools. Over time I realized that there is no way to do it. What I really like to make is that I have all these stories of all these countries. If the hand of a student of 13 different ways of looking at 11.09 from 13 different countries and ask them, "How is this different from what you have learned in the past? Why do you think is the difference? Why Pakistan to think that the story one way and Brazil speaks a different way? who is writing this story? "I think that's the only way we can really reach a new understanding of this event.
