Skip to main content

LUP Student Papers

LUND UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES

Back to the Future: Imagining the Narrative of Choosing Europe in Georgian History Textbooks from 1920 to 2023

Kakhidze, Ani LU (2025) MKVM13 20251
Media and Communication Studies
Department of Communication and Media
Abstract
This thesis analyses Georgian history textbooks to examine how the narrative of “choosing Europe” is constructed and reconstructed across political periods from 1920 to 2023.

The study explains how the nation articulates itself and reimagines its identity in a changing world. Drawing on theories of collective memory, narrative templates, and political identities, the thesis examines how textbooks, as state-approved educational media, incorporate Europe into Georgia’s historical self-conception across shifting political regimes. Through qualitative text analysis of state-approved history textbooks, the research demonstrates that textbooks treat formal history as a narrative, translating it into a structural, logical, and linear... (More)
This thesis analyses Georgian history textbooks to examine how the narrative of “choosing Europe” is constructed and reconstructed across political periods from 1920 to 2023.

The study explains how the nation articulates itself and reimagines its identity in a changing world. Drawing on theories of collective memory, narrative templates, and political identities, the thesis examines how textbooks, as state-approved educational media, incorporate Europe into Georgia’s historical self-conception across shifting political regimes. Through qualitative text analysis of state-approved history textbooks, the research demonstrates that textbooks treat formal history as a narrative, translating it into a structural, logical, and linear development of the nation. The research explains what choosing Europe means by examining the narrative of its opposition to various others in the textbooks.

Importantly, the study finds that while political transitions in Georgia have been abrupt, textbooks adapt to these changes more slowly. Institutional constraints and the need for narrative continuity often result in new ideological content being layered onto older narrative forms, making it even more challenging to change them. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
Kakhidze, Ani LU
supervisor
organization
course
MKVM13 20251
year
type
H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
subject
keywords
Georgian history textbooks, collective memory, narrative template, political transitions, historical narratives, Europe and Georgia, educational media
language
English
id
9188765
date added to LUP
2025-07-03 16:23:56
date last changed
2025-07-03 16:23:56
@misc{9188765,
  abstract     = {{This thesis analyses Georgian history textbooks to examine how the narrative of “choosing Europe” is constructed and reconstructed across political periods from 1920 to 2023.

The study explains how the nation articulates itself and reimagines its identity in a changing world. Drawing on theories of collective memory, narrative templates, and political identities, the thesis examines how textbooks, as state-approved educational media, incorporate Europe into Georgia’s historical self-conception across shifting political regimes. Through qualitative text analysis of state-approved history textbooks, the research demonstrates that textbooks treat formal history as a narrative, translating it into a structural, logical, and linear development of the nation. The research explains what choosing Europe means by examining the narrative of its opposition to various others in the textbooks.

Importantly, the study finds that while political transitions in Georgia have been abrupt, textbooks adapt to these changes more slowly. Institutional constraints and the need for narrative continuity often result in new ideological content being layered onto older narrative forms, making it even more challenging to change them.}},
  author       = {{Kakhidze, Ani}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  note         = {{Student Paper}},
  title        = {{Back to the Future: Imagining the Narrative of Choosing Europe in Georgian History Textbooks from 1920 to 2023}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}