Representations of History, National Identity, and Multiculturalism in Turkish Settings

In four studies, we examined the relationships between silencing of historical events that are critical of the nation or state (as opposed to glorifying), national identification, and support for multiculturalism in Turkish settings. In Study 1, a content analysis of national history examinations showed that nation-glorifying themes (e.g., military victories) were most emphasized, whereas mentions of minority populations were minimal (16 out of 112 items) and negative in each instant but one. In Study 2 (N = 60), denial of historical events related to harm doing toward minorities mediated the negative relationship between endorsement of ethno-cultural constructions of national identity (e.g., based on blood and ancestry) and support for multiculturalism in a community sample. In Study 3 (N = 71), university student participants generated events that they considered to be the most important successes and failures in the history of Turkey. Instances of harm doing against minorities made up twenty percent of the events considered failures. In Study 4 (N = 103), another university student sample listed the historical events that they think are relevant for understanding today’s society and necessary to include in the high school curriculum, and indicated whether they considered each as a success or a failure. Participants who reported stronger national identification generated more events that they considered successes for the country, and less failures, which included minority-related events. We draw upon cultural psychological perspectives to discuss the bi-directional relationship between collective memory and national identity, and its implications for multiculturalism, in light of our findings.