Forging Citizens Through Geography: Decolonizing Spatial Imaginaries In Algerian Textbooks

Abstract

This paper discusses the role of geography education on national belonging and citizenship in post-independence Algeria. It derives upon a qualitative historical content analysis of geography textbook in primary, middle, and secondary education since 1962. The paper examines how spatial stories were enlisted by the state to confront colonial imaginations of the Algerian land and to create a national sovereign geographical imagination. The article is published at the juncture of Critical Geography, Sociology of Education, and Citizenship Studies and it theorizes citizenship as a spatial process that is constituted by representations of territory and identity as well as belonging. The study is based on a sample of Arabic and French language textbooks written over three important political and educational periods, including the early post-independence decades, the Arabization and consolidation of the state period of the 1980s1990s, and the competency-based reforms that have taken effect since 2003. By using the thematic analysis and systematic coding, the paper follows the evolution of the depictions of the Algerian territory, resources, regional diversity, and global position throughout the years. They focus on the story of territorial incorporation, particularly, the symbolic reintegration of Sahara, the discourses of resource ownership, discourses about demographics, and the role of students as civil actors in particular.

The results expose three phases in the formation of spatial citizenship, which include cognitive decolonization and territorial reclamation, (1960s-1970s), Arab-Islamic identity and developmental citizenship (1980s-1990s) and, post-2003 competency-based learning focusing on critical thinking, environment responsibility and global consciousness. In general, it can be seen that geography textbooks are more than pedagogical instruments; they are also the tools of political influence that construct territorial identity and citizenship.