Undergrad
societies are not anymore progressively developing into one vast global
society; rather, the all the political, regional, and social elements that we
once called social orders or nations are divorcing in front of our eyes in the
wake of ethnic, political, and religious conflicts. The outcome is that we live
respectively just to the degree that we make similar signals and utilize
similar norms and values. But we cannot converge or speak with each other if we
are not taught the same language, we cannot conform if we are not the same
color. Therefore, social institutions may be retooled to demolish the
improvement of the individual subject and correspondence amongst subjects, and
by drawing out what these new social foundations may affect the social relations
between different group and in education system, creating a room for prejudice
and discrimination.
However, to achieve and to form meaningful
social and political institutions, to create an acceptance and to reduce the
gap between different groups, we have to empower an active self or the
“subject”. Thus, this is what Touraine emphasizes in his book “can we live
together” he mentions the importance of the school of subject with reflection
on education and textbooks. Touraine emphasis that education must enhance the
freedom of the personal Subject and it develops great emphasis on diversity,
communication, and liberation rather than nationalism context, wrecking
individualism and national culture.
Textbooks is
a major aspect in constructing the subject, it plays an important role in
shaping the identity of the individual and his social roles in the society. It
represents a resource for both teachers as a course designers and learners as
individuals who are acquiring their knowledge and background. It shapes the
individual’s conscious in order to recognize himself within the in group and
within the out group. It works on the notion of us and them, and who is the
“others”, which can later develop a form of discrimination and prejudice,
leading to widen the gap within different societies.
However,
theories of prejudice and discrimination are paramount element in order to
understand the importance of textbooks in creating an atmosphere of where it
reduces or increases the subject. One of the relevant theories to this topic is
the Socialization and Social Learning Theory, it focuses on social norms that
have been taught for the individual at his early years, it argues that People are socialized and trained to behave that way, that
even discriminatory
act is taught. Social learning theory, looks at the individual
learning process, the formation of self, and the influence of society in
socializing individuals. the formation of one’s identity is a response to
social stimuli. This theory postulates that an individual’s identity is not the
product of the unconscious (such as the belief of psychoanalytic theorists),
but instead is the result of modeling oneself in response to the expectations
of others.
Behaviors
and attitudes develop in response to reinforcement and encouragement from the
people around us. Social learning theorists acknowledge that childhood
experience is important, they also believe that the identity people acquire is
formed more by the behaviors and attitudes of others. Hence, Social identity theory is applicable, according to SIT,
people tend to classify themselves and others into various social categories,
such as organizational membership, religious affiliation, gender, and age
cohort.
Social identification stems from the
categorization of individuals, the distinctiveness and prestige of the group,
the salience of outgroups, and the factors that traditionally are associated
with group formation. Social identification leads to activities that are
congruent with the identity, support for institutions that embody the identity,
stereotypical perceptions of self and others. Social identification, therefore,
is the perception of oneness with or belongingness to some human aggregate.
Social identification provides a partial answer to the question, who am I?
Therefore, this is applicable to the case of educational textbooks,
since it provides a set of visuals, activities, readings, and ideologies that
affect the individual’s identity and recognition. Therefore, I will focus on
the issue of textbooks formation in Egypt. I will talk about Egyptian
educational textbooks produced by the ministry of education in Egypt. I
analyzed different textbooks from different grades, focusing on main social
concepts such as: sexism, nationalism. What I found was an answer to the
question: can we live together? and the answer is: NOT YET.
Sexism
Therefore, and by analyzing the 2nd
primary Arabic textbook, I
concentrated-on gender as a leading explanatory approach to the inequality
between women and men in the public sphere and in the social norms and values.
While the term ‘‘sex’’ is a reference to the biological and physical
differences between males and females, Gender refers to the socially
constructed differences between women and men. Egypt ranks low in gender equity
compared to other countries worldwide. The 2015 Global Gender Gap Index, which
measures disparities between men and women across countries, ranks Egypt at 136
out of 145 countries worldwide. Gender Index 2014, which measures legislation,
practices, and attitudes that restrict women’s rights and opportunities,
classifies Egypt to be among the countries ‘very high’ in gender discrimination
together with others in Africa and the Middle East.
Hence, the
constructed social roles for females and males represented in Egyptian
educational textbooks is an image of an unequal distribution of roles in daily
social life based on their sex. While women can work only as a teacher or
nurse, males are doctors and engineers. It focuses on how the individual whether a male or female
should react and behave in a certain act. It destroyers the "subject"
and force the individual to submit to the laws of community, where is
individual only part of a particular identity that he cannot change or resist.
For instance, Gender in the Arabic textbook grade 2nd primary, semester 2, draws attention to the socially unequal
distinction between femininity and masculinity, the ideas about the
implications of biological differences between women and men have served to
justify the exclusion or limited inclusion of women in sports. Such views
reflect an ideology of biological determinism, where it is claimed that men are
inherently strong, aggressive, and competitive and, therefore, better suited to
sports, while women are more sensitive, weak, fragile and can play music or do
arts.
Furthermore, what I
found significant about Gender representation in the textbook, that it does
represent only men working in the agriculture sphere, which is totally inconsistent to the Egyptian culture. According to the
Egyptian national council for women: rural women in Egypt indicates an account
for 49% of the rural population, and that 42.8% of women in Egypt work in
agriculture.
While the division of labour between
men and women varies by crop, overall men carry out most of the land
preparation, planting, weeding, irrigation and pest control, and women
contribute moderately to seed preparation, fertilization and harvesting, and
significantly to storage and marketing. Food processing is the primary
responsibility of women. In animal husbandry, men are primarily responsible for
the care of water buffalo, donkeys, cows and sheep, while women carry out most
of the milking, processing and marketing of milk and animal products. In
fisheries, fish catching, feeding and marketing are primarily men's tasks,
while women contribute about 52% of the labour in fish processing and
net-making, and carry out 42% of net maintenance and repair. Women also carry out
virtually all domestic tasks, including water and fuel collection, and food
processing and preparation. Why do women and men tend to specialize in different subject
areas? What is it like being a woman in a "man's" subject and a man
in a "woman's" subject? Education plays a part in reinforcing gender
equality, and therefore we have to examine the social constructions of gender
in order to answer the question of living together.
Nationalism
The nation in the textbooks is often
presented as an immaculate entity that has rarely, if ever, done harm to
anyone; Mistakes "we" have committed are often stifled, revised, or
outright ignored. Wrongs of which "we" are on the receiving end,
however, are frequently emphasized, embellished, and may even be
fabricated. Moreover, after the
analyzations to the textbooks in Egypt, it was clearly shown the robust view of
nationalism, although nationalism can be perceived as normal, positive
phenomenon, however the nationalism reflected in the textbooks are a way
different from this.
• Firstly, the context of the topics
covered are almost always limited to national geography, national, history,
national culture, and non-civic perspective. Which therefore limits the
development of critical thinking and questioning or developing different
interpretations to the current education system.
• Secondly, the nationalism
reflected in the textbooks imposes criteria regarding how and to what extent
patriotism should be demonstrated.
• Thirdly, these criteria are
presented as not as normative but as positive statement of which different
forms of patriotism are practised, and the concept which personal priorities
exits other than patriotism are therefore excluded.
For instance, the claim that
Egyptians are an army nation is frequently repeated in history textbooks.
"In the reign of King Tuthmosis the Third, the army had a cultural role.It
recorded the oddities of the country they invaded, like birds, animals, trees
and plants that were unknown to Egypt. This was recorded on the walls of the
Karnak Temple" (Prep1, sem1-history textbook: 56)."The army is the
first line of defence for your beloved nation Egypt, the army is the only one
who is capable of maintaining and protecting the unity of the country"
(Prep1, sem1-history textbook: 66).
Moreover, the term "pride"
of the civilization "Ancient Egyptians –Pharaohs- and their history is
widely included, which I think later imposes the concept that there is no need
to build a current civilization, and it serves the state in a political
context, making the individual accept the current atrocious situation without
objection because they already have an ancient civilization to be proud of.
"you have to be proud of your
civilization "Ancient Egyptians – Pharaohs-" and their history. The
stability, prosperity, unity and security we are living now, is due to the
fruit of a long struggle thousands of years ago. The Ancient Egyptians are the
first people in the world to achieve unity and unity is the only way to build a
great civilization" (4th primary-sem1-history textbook: 34)
Furthermore, Egypt is presented in
the textbooks as nation whose language and country are under threat due its
geopolitical importance. There is always a profound discussion in the textbooks
about Egypt being under threat and Pledge for colonists due its important
geographical location, where is located in the middle of the continents of the
ancient world (Asia, Europe, Africa). It also overlooks the important Mediterranean
Sea and the Red Sea, which helps it to connect with neighbouring countries and
stimulate trade and economy. This approach is used to encourage the spirit of
national security and the indispensable powerful army to control the nation.
Not only the geographical location
which makes the country under threat but also there is a threat on its language
"Classical Arabic- Quran language", therefore there is a huge
emphasis on the language as an "Identity". 1- Language is he image of
the existence of the nation with its ideas and Meanings. 2- Accuracy in the
composition and depth of the language is evidence of the tendency of the nation
to think and search for causes. 3- The richness of the language and the
abundance of its longing is evidence of the nation's tendency towards freedom.
4- The first goal of the colonizer is to weaken the national language of the
Occupier. 5- The peoples degenerate with their languages and by their
languages. (2nd secondary- sem2- Arabic textbook: 36)
Also,
• "For no doubt, the language
of the nation is the first target of the colonists. people will not change
until its language changes. Language is the origin of the transformation of its
ideas, beliefs, emotions and hopes. If the colonist can cut you off from your
language, then he is cutting you off from your past, and your identity will
become engraved in history, and not present in its presence. It is like the
sons of a same father had different languages, so they are becoming the sons of
three different fathers.
Many countries felt this great danger and
imposed strict laws in order to preserve the linguistic entity and identity
from the decline and took positive steps in preserving them, including: 1- Make
it the language of communication and talk in all affairs of life. • 2- Direct
the media to maintain the language and not to use the slang levels of it.
Therefore we, the "sons of the Arabic language," are aware of the
attempts to weaken it. The colonizer holds our language in life imprisonment,
judges our past with oblivion, and restricts our future" (2nd secondary-
sem2- Arabic textbook: 37)
"Language has a deep connection
with ideology and freedom, the language is the true image to its people, it
shows how certain people are open and close minded. Language can shape its native's
bodies, that's why invaders want to destroy it, and Conspirators wants to
conspire it, so it is our job to protect it" (2nd secondary- sem2- Arabic
textbook:36)
However, the argument that Arabic is
the language of the holy Quran is used to demonstrate that it is normal and
inevitable force to perceive language as an ideology and identity.
"Language is one of the components of the life of the nations, and Arabic
language in particular is one of the most important elements of the Arab
identity, for many reasons, but most importantly because its relation to the
Quran, the miracle book that came down with it" (2nd secondary-
sem2- Arabic textbook: 44). "Arabic is the only language that had never
been distorted or changed and stood strong throughout the ages, and that is
because it the language of the Wise "Zikar" (2nd secondary- sem2-
Arabic textbook:52)
The textbooks also focus on the idea
that we have to learn our national morals and sacrifice ourselves for sacred
values and that the nation priorities come before our priorities. "Our
beloved nation in a very need of our efforts in this harsh period of its
history to develop, and this will not happen if we put our personal priorities
over the nation, and every one of us should do his duty before calling for his
rights" (2nd secondary- sem2- Arabic textbook: 64). There are two types of
Egyptians who: Die for Egypt, live for Egypt (2nd secondary-sem2- Arabic
textbook: 68). "one does deny the virtue of his homeland, deny the love of
his country from his heart, and you cannot establish this love except in the
heart of a believer in the values of his nation, we call the youth of Egypt who
preferred to go abroad to come back to their country" (2nd secondary-sem2-
Arabic textbook: 72). "Come back to Egypt, the small piece of bread with
sincerity will satisfies us, and the drop of water with faith will fill our
thirst" (2nd secondary-sem2- Arabic textbook: 73). "why you left
Egypt? is it because the weakness of your love to Egypt? Or because the
weakness of faith of your national identity? Or if the dream we were looking at
died before it started?" (2nd secondary- sem2- Arabic textbook:74)
Finally, we see how nationalism was
used as an ideology based on the premise that the individual's loyalty and
devotion to the nation-state surpass others is deeply embodied in the
textbooks. Therefore, the construction of the terms "us" and
them" can lead to discrimination and prejudice. We can refer here again to
the social learning theory which emphasizes that there is a discrimination in
that context, since it is emphasis on social norms that were taught.
Additionally, Realistic group conflict theory can be related, because it
explains prejudice as a result of real groups being locked into zero-sum
competition over either real or symbolic resources, Individuals perceive the
competition at an intergroup level, and competition-making firmer
boundaries-dehumanizing the opposing group. Further, Social identity theory-SIT
is relevant also, because it explains prejudice as self-concept (awareness),
existential (separate from others), and Categorical (age, gender, size, etc.).
However, we must dig for an answer to the
question what can be done in order for the different background to come
together without major conflict. Therefore, we can discuss multiculturalism as
Bauman urged that we miss community because we miss security. Communities
develop a sense of protection and secure, today multiculturalism only means
living besides, but not with each other. Bauman asserts that it is advisable to
replace the term “multiculturalism”, with the concept of
"diasporisation": a process by which the stranger becomes a next-door
neighbour. Thus, how to assist re-rooting of the uprooted? Different approaches
can answer this question, firstly, there is a personal responsibility on each
intellectual individual to help in building conscience, cognitive frames, and
spread an awareness on how to sail in unfamiliar water. This can be achieved by
developing new life purpose for the group, new loyalties, and new mindsets that
can accept the constant social change without feeling inferior. "Design
and built new well-structured and mapped settings that would make such
navigation possible and effective, and so give shape to the temporarily
shapeless ‘mass’; to bring about ‘social order’ or more exactly an orderly
society" (Bauman 2001: 126).
For
instance, this may lead to what Nancy Fraser emphasized " a struggle of
recognition" which she explains that struggles for recognition occur in a
world of exacerbated material inequality—in income and property ownership; in
access to paid work, education, health care and leisure time; but also, more
starkly in caloric intake and exposure to environmental toxicity, hence in life
expectancy and rates of morbidity and mortality. She stressed on the notions of
‘identity’, ‘difference’, ‘cultural domination’, and ‘recognition’. She argues
that "we should see ourselves as presented with a new intellectual and
practical task: that of developing a critical theory of recognition, one which
identifies and defends only those versions of the cultural politics of
difference that can be coherently combined with the social politics of
equality." She assumes that justice today requires both redistribution and
recognition.
In conclusion, I believe to obtain
some sort of social cohesion and the degree in which a society holds together,
the responsibility of the individual for the common good is the essential
element. However, there is no a specific common good in absolute, and every
common good we do, also reflects on our lives, the equation here would be that
we need to accept the give and take process without perceiving it as hypocrisy
or greed or inconsistency, or lack of one's identity. We must ensure the
importance of having mutual spaces where young people from different
backgrounds can meet. This is crucial for them to develop mutual trust and
understanding, to stress on the importance of culture and intercultural
dialogue that enables the individuals to build bridges, to encourage contacts
and exchanges. And certainly, good education is always the good embark of
creating subjects, not passive, and vulnerable individuals. Through developing
educational textbooks as Touraine suggested that education must enhance the
freedom of the personal Subject (recognize child’s culture, not free from
particularism- home and school can converge), Hence, intercommunication rather
than solely valuing national culture, emphasis on diversity, communication and
the desire to compensate for unequal situations and inequality of opportunity
start with the recognition of inequality. That may at the end lead to an
answer: yes, we can live together, when we believe that we are the society,
Significantly, the responsibility is on us to compare and contrast where is the
problem and how to solve it, god will not interfere, neither superheroes, only
us and by us.
References: The Egyptian Ministry of Education and Technical Education.
2017-2018, in (ed.). Egypt: pp. 16-41.
FAO,
Fact sheet, world bank.1994. Egypt-Women, agriculture and rural development.
, Available at: (Accessed).
International
Labour Organization, ILOSTAT database. March 2017. Employment in
agriculture, female (% of female employment)., Available at: (Accessed).
The
Egyptian Ministry of Education and Technical Education. 2017-2018. 2nd
secondary- sem2- Arabic textbook., Egypt.
The
Egyptian Ministry of Education and Technical Education. 2017-2018. Prep1,
sem1-history textbook., Egypt.
The
Egyptian Ministry of Education and Technical Education. 2017-2018. 4th
primary-sem1-history textbook., Egypt.
Abrams,
D. and M. A. Hogg. 2010. Social Identity and Self-Categorization. In J. F.
Dovidio et.al. (eds.) The Sage Handbook of Prejudice, Stereotyping and
Discrimination, London, Sage, pp. 179-189.
Dovidio
J. F. et.al. 2011. Prejudice, Stereotyping and Discrimination: Theoretical and
Empirical Overview”. In J. F. Dovidio et.al. (eds.) The Sage Handbook of
Prejudice, Stereotyping and Discrimination, London, Sage, pp. 3-29.
Bauman,
Z. 2001. Community: Seeking Safety in an Insecure World, Cambridge: Polity
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A. 2000. A School for the Subject. In A. Touraine, Can We Live Together? Standford: Standford University Press, pp.
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(S)
Nancy Fraser, “From Redistribution to Recognition? Dilemmas of Justice in a
‘Post-Socialist’ Age”, New Left Review, July-August 1995, Issue 212, pp.
68-93.