The truth shall (not) set you free: hegemony, identity, and history education in Yugoslavia and Rwanda

Winward, Mark (2012) The truth shall (not) set you free: hegemony, identity, and history education in Yugoslavia and Rwanda. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

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Abstract

A shared history is crucial to the formation of a national imagined community. Many post-ethnic conflict societies, such as Tito's Yugoslavia and Kagame's Rwanda, have attempted or are attempting to build new national imagined communities in order to overcome genocide. Building this community requires a new understanding of the past that is able to co-opt divisive elements of history that helped to fuel identity based violence. History education provides a mechanism for states to construct this new history amongst the next generation, ideally creating a new supra-ethnic identity in the process. -- Using the theoretical framework of hegemony, and drawing lessons from 'Yugoslavism', this thesis evaluates the potential of Kagame's 'Rwandanism' project as a means of post-conflict reconciliation. Methods of disseminating narratives of the past such as gacaca, genocide memorialisation, ingando, and the public school system are discussed, highlighting the differences between official and local accounts of Rwanda's history.

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