Muṭāli̒āt-i tārīkh-i farhangī(Cultural History Studies)

The Representation of Iranian History in Fifth-Grade (1962 Edition) and Sixth-Grade (1966 Edition) History Textbooks during the Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi Era: A Critical Analysis Based on Ruth Wodak's Theory

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Emam’ali Sha’bani 1
Paiman Mohammadi 2
Mehdi Zamani 3

1 Associate Professor, Department of History, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Mazandaran, Babolsar, Iran

2 MA Graduate in History, University of Arak, Arak, Iran

3 PhD Graduate in Iranian History, Expert Researcher at the Center for Economic and Political Studies, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran

https://doi.org/10.22034/chs.2025.527909.1108
Abstract
the present study aims to present a critical analysis of the discourse in fifth-grade (1962 edition) and sixth-grade (1966 edition) history textbooks during the Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi era. The theoretical framework of this research includes Ruth Wodak's ‘Discourse-Historical Approach,’ which, by emphasizing the discursive dimensions of power, ideology, collective memory, and historical representation, examines the processes of legitimation, exclusion, and identity formation in official educational texts. In this study, the fifth and sixth-grade history textbooks were analyzed as the primary discursive sources of the educational system during the Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi era. The findings indicate that the educational system of this period employed strategies such as mythologizing ancient kings, eliminating and disparaging the Qajar era, heroizing the Pahlavi dynasty, and emphasizing concepts like "Iranian civilization," "national authority," and "state modernity" to produce a historical memory that served to consolidate the political and cultural legitimacy of the Pahlavi monarchy. From the perspective of Wodak's theory, this process utilized tools such as value-laden vocabulary, one-sided narratives, intertextual repetition, and emotional imagery to shape the dominant historical discourse. This article seeks to provide a basis for analyzing the politics of memory and ideological history education through a critical rereading of these texts.

Keywords

Critical Historical Discourse Analysis
History Textbook
Pahlavi Ideology
Qajar Antagonism
Iranian Nationalism
Political Legitimacy
Ashoori Dariush (1998) We and Modernity, Tehran: ṣarāt Cultural Institute
Ashoori Dariush (1999) Political Encyclopedia, Tehran: Morvārīd Publications.
Giddens Anthony (1997) Sociology, translated by Manouchehr Sabouri, Tehran: Ney Publications.
History textbook, fifth grade, 1962.
History textbook, sixth grade, 1966.
Khezri, Seyed Ahmad Reza (2000). Shiism in History: A Research on Beliefs, Political History, and Shiite Governments from the Beginning to the End of the Safavid Period; Tehran: Maʻāref Publishing House.
Khodayar Ebrahim and Fathi, Azam (2008) National identity in Education textbooks(High school), Journal of National Studies; 21, Vol. 1, No. 2, pp. 52-27.
Khosravanian, Hamid Reza; (2009) Depicting National (Iranian) Identity in Secondary History Textbooks from 1965 to 2006; Supervisor: Dr. Issa Ebrahimzadeh, Tehran: Iran Studies Foundation and Shahid Beheshti University, Master's Thesis.
Majidi Musa (1985) A brief history of textbooks and their evolution in Iran, Education Quarterly, No. 4, pp. 65-95.
Mansouri, Ali and Fereydouni, Azita (1988) The crystallization of identity in textbooks, a content study of the elementary school textbook, National Studies Quarterly; 29, p. 92, no. 3.
Motamedi Esfandiar (1983) Textbooks in Iran from the establishment of the Dar al-Fonūn to the Islamic Revolution, Contemporary History Journal, No. 27.
Parvaneh Farhad (2010) An Analysis of Middle School History Textbooks from the Perspective of the Second Pahlavi Period from the Viewpoint of Comparison of the Components of National Identity with Religious, Journal of Education Studies, Volume 2, No. 23, pp. 29-46.
Salehi Omran, Ebrahim et al. (2008) "A study of Nation Identity-Faramation in Iranian Guidance School Textbooks "; National Studies Quarterly, 21 vol., 1 vol., 2 pp.
Shoari Nejad, Ali Akbar (2007) Philosophy of Education; 8th Edition; Tehran: Amīr Kabīr.
Wodak, R., & Reisigl, M. (2001), Discourse and Discrimination: Rhetorics of Racism and Antisemitism, Routledge.
Wodak, R. & Meyer, M. (2009), Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis, (2nd ed.) — SAGE.
Wodak, R. (2011,) The Discourse of Politics in Action: Politics as Usual, Palgrave Macmillan
Muṭāli̒āt-i tārīkh-i farhangī(Cultural History Studies)
Volume 17, Issue 64 - Serial Number 64
summer 2025
Autumn 2025
Pages 1-24

  • Receive Date 04 June 2025
  • Revise Date 13 October 2025
  • Accept Date 01 November 2025
  • Publish Date 23 August 2025

Home

Submit Manuscript

Reviewers

Contact Us