ABSTRACT

Ideas of nationalism are (re)produced, materially and discursively, in the lives of children through schools’ actual and hidden curriculums that often exclude minorities and construct them as ‘the other’. However, the exclusion of religious minorities has been minimally explored in understanding nationalism and childhoods. Through fieldwork conducted at a government high school in Bangalore, India, I examine how ‘everyday nationalism’ is experienced and negotiated within schools by religious minorities. I foreground Muslim childhoods as they negotiate the double burden of exclusion; one through the practices of the school where secularism is enacted within ‘Hindu contextualism’ where Hindu symbols and rituals are cast as universal, and two through the stereotypes and ‘othering’ discourses about Indian Muslims. I show that though the school officially claims to adhere to a ‘secular’ ethos, many of its actual practices are contradictory to this claim. Pedagogically, there are specific aims reserved for the Muslim child to develop into a tolerant and inclusive citizen that belongs to the nation. I also show how children across religions become political actors in this space. While some absorb the ‘secular’ narratives, others absorb the dominant discourses of the Muslim being the ‘violent other’. Muslim children exercise their agentic capacities as they negotiate the school space with an awareness of the socio-political ramifications of being Muslim.

摘要

通过学校实际和隐藏的课程，民族主义思想在儿童的生活中以物质和话语的方式（再）产生，这些课程经常将少数群体排除在外，并将他们构建为“他者”。然而，在理解民族主义和童年的过程中，对排斥宗教少数群体的探索却很少。通过在印度班加罗尔的一所公立高中进行的实地考察，我研究了宗教少数群体如何在学校内体验和协商“日常民族主义”。我将穆斯林童年放在前面，因为他们正在协商排斥的双重负担；一个是通过学校的实践，在“印度教语境主义”中实施世俗主义，印度教的符号和仪式被认为是普遍的，两个是通过关于印度穆斯林的刻板印象和“他者”话语。我表明，尽管学校正式声称坚持“世俗”风气，但其许多实际做法与这一说法相矛盾。在教学上，穆斯林儿童有特定的目标要发展成为一个宽容和包容的公民，属于这个国家。我还展示了跨宗教的儿童如何成为这个领域的政治参与者。有些吸收了“世俗”的叙述，而另一些则吸收了穆斯林作为“暴力他者”的主流话语。穆斯林儿童在了解作为穆斯林的社会政治后果的情况下在学校空间中进行谈判时会行使他们的代理能力。穆斯林儿童有特定的目标，要发展成为属于国家的宽容和包容的公民。我还展示了跨宗教的儿童如何成为这个领域的政治参与者。有些吸收了“世俗”的叙述，而另一些则吸收了穆斯林作为“暴力他者”的主流话语。穆斯林儿童在了解作为穆斯林的社会政治后果的情况下在学校空间中进行谈判时会行使他们的代理能力。穆斯林儿童有特定的目标，要发展成为属于国家的宽容和包容的公民。我还展示了跨宗教的儿童如何成为这个领域的政治参与者。有些吸收了“世俗”的叙述，而另一些则吸收了穆斯林作为“暴力他者”的主流话语。穆斯林儿童在了解作为穆斯林的社会政治后果的情况下在学校空间中进行谈判时会行使他们的代理能力。