Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to examine the ways that history curriculum has worked to legitimise dispossession through narratives that elide questions of Indigenous sovereignty, and which construct and consolidate white settler identity and possession.

Design/methodology/approach

The paper uses two case studies to compare history education documentation and materials at key moments where dominant narratives of settler legitimacy were challenged in public discourse: (1) the post-war humanitarian agenda of fostering “international understanding” and; (2) the release and educational recommendations of the 1997 Bringing them Home Report.

Findings

The paper shows that in two moments where narratives of settler legitimacy were challenged in public discourse, the legitimacy of settler possession was reiterated in history curricula in various ways.

Practical implications

This research suggests that the prevailing constructivist framework for history education has not sufficiently challenged criticisms of the representation of Aboriginal history and the history of settler-colonialism in the history syllabus.

Originality/value

The paper introduces two case studies of history curriculum and shows how, in different but resonant ways, curricular reforms worked to bolster the liberal credentials of the settler state.

中文翻译：

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本体论、主权、合法性：历史课程在公共话语和课程效果中受到挑战的两个关键时刻，澳大利亚 1950 年代和 2000 年代

目的

本文的目的是检查历史课程如何通过省略土著主权问题的叙述来使剥夺合法化，并构建和巩固白人定居者的身份和占有。

设计/方法/方法

本文使用两个案例研究来比较在公共话语中对定居者合法性的主导叙述受到挑战的关键时刻的历史教育文件和材料：（1）促进“国际理解”的战后人道主义议程；(2) 1997 年《带他们回家报告》的发布和教育建议。

发现

该论文表明，在公众话语中对定居者合法性叙事提出挑战的两个时刻，定居者占有的合法性以各种方式在历史课程中得到重申。

实际影响

这项研究表明，盛行的历史教育建构主义框架并没有充分挑战对历史教学大纲中对土著历史和定居者-殖民主义历史的再现的批评。

原创性/价值

这篇论文介绍了历史课程的两个案例研究，并展示了课程改革如何以不同但引起共鸣的方式来支持定居者国家的自由主义证书。