Beskrivningar av Öst : En studie av historieläromedel för yrkesprogrammen med utgångspunkt i konceptet orientalism

This paper studies how the Middle East is represented in four textbooks for the history course for the professional programs in Swedish upper secondary school. By using discourse analysis and the concept of orientalism I investigate presentations of the Middle East. This study finds that in the textbooks the population of the Middle East is often generalized in modern times as Arabic and Muslim, with "the other" being religious people as the outset of the textbooks are not necessarily European and Christian, but rather European (Swedish) and secular. For example, the Ottoman Empire is portrayed as an obstacle to "western" interests and a great enemy to Christian Europe, while later it loses focus after the advent of the secularized Turkish state. Furthermore, the secular state of Israel is included as a part of "the west" and surrounded by its enemies, the Muslim "Arab states". It would appear however, that the further back in history we go, the more nuanced the representation of the Middle East is. For example, up to, and to some extent including, the middle ages the Middle East is not simply considered a material part of "the west" but rather an integral part in its future legal and cultural ideals. On the other hand the textbooks portray Islam and Christianity as wholly "incompatible" ideological enemies, with a clear geographical border passing through the Mediterranean and an emphasis on the Crusades and its peoples as bringers of war and destruction. Also, during the 20th Century it would appear that "western values" are spoken of in the Middle East as something negative