Shifting Concepts of Nation in Taiwan’s Primary Social Studies Textbooks after the Lifting of Martial Law

[[abstract]]The purpose of this study is to trace the changes of the concept of nation in Taiwan’s primary social studies textbooks and their connections with the corresponding political transformations following the lifting of martial law. Primary social studies textbooks in the 1975 curriculum, the 1993 curriculum, and the 2000 curriculum are coded by means of content analysis into categories of Sinoism, Taiwanism and one that mixed with both. And correspondence analysis is then taken to illustrate the changes. The major findings go as follows: 1.The concept of nation in the 1975 curriculum centered on Sinoism. 2.The concept of nation in the 1993 curriculum turned into one that mixed Sinoism and Taiwanism. 3.The concept of nation in the 2000 curriculum reversed the focus on Taiwanism. 4.The concept of nation in the three curriculums reflected their respective political contexts, and the government’s discourse of nation has always had an overwhelming say in the contents of textbooks. 5.The concept of nation was constructed diversely in different versions of textbooks ever since 1993. Keywords: primary social studies, textbooks, nation, content analysis, correspondence analysis