Decolonizing History Historical Consciousness Identity and Civic Engagement of Nigerian Youth
Open Access
- Author:
- Nafziger, Rhoda Nanre
- Graduate Program:
- Educational Theory and Policy
- Degree:
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Document Type:
- Dissertation
- Date of Defense:
- July 21, 2020
- Committee Members:
- Mindy L Kornhaber, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Mindy L Kornhaber, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
Nicole Sheree Webster, Committee Chair/Co-Chair
David Alexander Gamson, Committee Member
Rebecca Tarlau, Outside Member
Nicole Sheree Webster, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor
Anthony Olorunnisola, Outside Member
Kevin Kinser, Program Head/Chair - Keywords:
- education policy
history education
historical consciousness
decolonization
neocolonialism
Nigeria education policy
counterstorytelling
Youth Participatory Action Research - Abstract:
- Historical consciousness is the way in which we use knowledge of the past to inform our present and future actions. History and culture tie human societies together and provide them with reference points for understanding the past, present and future. Education systems that strip people from their culture and history are inherently violent as they attempt to alienate the individual from his or her cultural identity, separate them from their past and thus cultivate ruptures in the social fabric. Racism is a tool is used to justify neocolonialism and capitalist hegemony. As such, neocolonial education systems reproduce violence and social instability through the negation of history and culture. This dissertation examines the neocolonial and racist legacies in education in Africa through the analysis of Nigeria's history education policy and the historical consciousness of Nigerian youth. This study draws upon theoretical frameworks of Fanonian decoloniality, Critical Race Theory and historical materialism to assess the intersections of race, history, and culture in the formation of the historical consciousness of Nigerian youth, and how this informs their identity and civic actions. This dissertation research includes an in-depth analysis of Nigeria's education policy, tracing the origin and influences of history education and social studies policy from the early 20th century through independence and up to the present day. It finds that radical movements in Africanizing history education were countered by the new Nigerian elite soon after independence. Social studies was promoted by the US government to Nigeria and other African countries as an alternative to history education, citing its usefulness in the path towards Western styled development. As such, the social studies curriculum encouraged conformity and obedience for Nigerian citizens while advocating for the evasive goal of national unity. Over the next fifty years the Historical Society of Nigeria would struggle to return history back to the curriculum. But, when it was finally returned, it came with concessions. In the second part of my study, using a Youth Participatory Action Research framework, this study demonstrates that despite widespread youth pessimism, Nigerian youth have a sense of historical consciousness. Due to the lack of historical knowledge, they create a 'pidginized' history, made up of different interpretations of the past from a variety of sources including stories, popular media along with written texts. Youth weave historical narratives into their identity and sense of self. While globalized cultural racism impacts youth identity, collaborative history has the potential to restore cultural identity, repair broken relationships between youth and elders, and increase young people’s interest and capacity for civic engagement. In conclusion, I argue that Nigerian youth have become the inevitable victims of culturally racist neocolonial education policies; the removal of points of cultural reference through the marginalization of history education. As such, they face limitations in developing critical historical consciousness and the possibilities for cultural renewal. This study challenges the conception that familial and ethnic ties and allegiances are antithetical to development but gather further evidence that cultural resistance, rooted in local struggle, is critical to the broader struggle for racial justice and decolonization even in majority Black nations like Nigeria. Finally, this dissertation asserts that the new efforts to return history to Nigeria's curriculum must affirm global Black pan-Africanist identity situated in global context. If history education is to be useful to the task of nation building and social and economic development, it must engender critical historical consciousness, and center youth in all efforts towards engaged citizenship and the re-envisioning of a democratic Nigerian state. The new history project must also embrace the importance of all ethnic groups, including minorities, who are all part of the Nigerian development project. Changes through history education will only be relevant when they are rooted in a broader context of social and cultural renewal.