From History Class to Historical Identity: The Conceptual Network and Schema for the Formation of “National Identity” Based on the Linkage between Cognition, Value, and Emotion

Mohammadi, Mohammaad; Hedayati, Mehrnoosh; Mollayi Tavani, Alireza

doi:10.22034/chs.2025.524815.1104

From History Class to Historical Identity: The Conceptual Network and Schema for the Formation of “National Identity” Based on the Linkage between Cognition, Value, and Emotion

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

mohammaad mohammadi ¹

Mehrnoosh Hedayati ²

Alireza mollayi tavani ³

¹ Associate Professor, Iranian History Research Institute, Institute of Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran, Iran

² Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology and Counseling, Institute of Ethics and Education, Institute of Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran, Iran

³ Professor, Institute of History, Institute of Humanities and Cultural Studies, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22034/chs.2025.524815.1104

Abstract

The diverse and pluralistic social fabric of the Iranian society has turned the concept of "national identity" into a fundamental issue. Historical knowledge and consciousness, which have always been considered as one of the most important sources of understanding "identity", can lead to national cohesion and stability if taught using modern scientific methods. However, teaching them by inefficient, pseudo-scientific, and unprincipled methods can be equally risky. In general, in relation to identity, two types of consciousness can be developed in a history class: one based on "historical identity" and the other based on "national consciousness". By raising this issue, the present article seeks to answer the main questions: Given the various types of historical education and the issues corresponding to it, how should history be taught in a pluralistic society like Iran, and what type of historical consciousness should it include so that, while strengthening national identity, it neither conflicts with ethnic identity nor leads to an identity crisis? This paper attempts to critique the current methods of history education in Iran while advocating for the teaching method based on the community or circle of inquiry in history lessons to achieve "national identity" and "national unity", a method that will be able to achieve the connection between the cognitive and emotional domains based on Bloom's learning theory. The findings show that, regardless of the context and structure of Iran's diverse and pluralistic society and the corresponding historical consciousness, numerous identity risks arise that will either lead to extreme nationalism (chauvinism) or sectarian extremism (pan-ism). To prevent these types of conflicts, identity formation should be based on "national interests," and history education should be based on "national consciousness." Based on Bloom's learning theory, the article concludes that "historical consciousness" and "national consciousness" are formed in the "cognitive" domain, and "identity belonging" in the "emotional" domain. Considering that "national identity" is the result of the "connection between "cognitive and emotional" domains, and that we need the formation of "high-level thinking" for creating this connection, the proposed model for teaching history is the "circle of intellectual exploration". Its implementation makes "high-level thinking" possible and the desired outcome is increasing national consciousness and strengthening national identity within the framework of "national unity" in the diverse Iranian society

Keywords

Historical consciousness

national consciousness

national interests

national identity

national unity

high-level thinking

circle of inquiry

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