Human Dignity and Humiliation Studies

Dear HumanDHS Friend!

Please be warmly invited to the presentation by Jean-Damascène Gasanabo entitled “History Textbooks and the Construction of Exclusive Identities: The Case of Rwanda between 1962 and 1994″!

Please see the details further down.

Most warmly,

Evelin

Velkommen til HL-senterets forskningsseminar:
Onsdag 3. september 2008
Kl. 14.00-16.00
Sted: HL-senteret, Huk aveny 56 (bus 30)

History Textbooks and the Construction of Exclusive Identities
The Case of Rwanda between 1962 and 1994

Before the arrival of missionaries in Rwanda in 1900, writing was essentially unknown in Rwandan society. The oral tradition functioned as the only source of collective memory. With the introduction of the school system during the Belgian colonial period, Rwandan students were exposed to formal education, using the educational materials designed and produced by colonial and religious authorities. At that time, Rwandan history was not thought as a separate discipline but was incorporated into literature courses and a special subject, “Kurerera Imana” (“Educating for God’s Sake”). Following Rwanda’s independence in 1962, school textbooks have been produced for all disciplines, including history.
The analysis of history textbooks for primary and secondary schools in Rwanda prior to the 1994 genocide reveals the trend to emphasize the differences rather than similarities between Hutus, Tutsis, and Twas. The texts stressed the different origins of various ethnic groups and the different times of their arrival in Rwanda. Hence, Rwandan students learned at school that the Tutsis had arrived after the Twas and the Hutus, and that they colonized the other two ethnic groups like the “white people” had done later. On the basis of his research carried out in Rwanda and Switzerland, Jean-Damascène Gasanabo argues that the refusal to consider Tutsis as true Rwandans was a political instrument used by Hutu authorities to exclude them from the society and to incite hatred between the ethnic communities. Consequently, the 1994 genocide was not a spontaneous act perpetrated by the Hutus to avenge the death of President Habyarimana but the result of a long process of constructing exclusive identities.

Jean-Damascène Gasanabo received a PhD in Education from the University of Geneva. Between 2005 and 2006 he worked at UNESCO in Paris as an Education Consultant for the project “Fostering Peaceful Co-Existence through Analysis and Revision of History Curricula and School Textbooks in South-Eastern Europe” (2005-2006) and a Program Specialist for “The United Nations Secretary-General’s Study on Violence against Children” (2006). Until August 2008, he was Head of Support for Communication, Research, and Special Projects at Geneva Call, an international humanitarian organization based in Geneva, Switzerland. Jean-Damascène Gasanabo has published extensively on the subjects related to Rwanda genocide and the construction of exclusive identities.

Foredraget varer i 45 min med påfølgende diskusjon. Velkommen!

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