This book highlights and examines the role of the textbook in legitimising established
political and social orders. It analyses the way in which the 'other' is presented in school
textbooks focusing on a number of countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region
and argues that the role of textbooks in developing and maintaining a national identity should
be afforded greater critical attention. Textbooks can help form national identities by
developing a society's collective memory this might involve a historical narrative which may
be self-contradictory or even fabricated to a certain extent including myths symbols and
collective memories that divide us from them and ultimately resulting a dichotomy between the
Self and the Other. As well as addressing a range of theoretical questions relating to the
study of textbooks generally the volume also covers a broad spectrum of Middle Eastern states
and societies with contributions from Turkey Iran Egypt Cyprus Lebanon Iraq Kurdistan
Jordan Morocco Tunisia Israel and Palestine. It will be essential reading for researchers
and students working in the fields of Education Sociology and History particularly those with
an interest in national identities in the MENA region.
