2015 개정 중․고등학교 역사교과서의 조선후기사 서술 관점과 새로운 서사의 모색

Abstract

The current middle and high school history textbooks under the Revised Curriculum of 2015 are the first history textbooks developed amid the growing social interest in the importance of authorized history textbooks after the regime''s attempt at replacing old history textbooks with new government-designated ones. Today, authorized history textbooks are oriented toward the development of textbooks to present diverse perspectives reflecting the changing situations of the times and the research achievements of the academic circles instead of textbooks containing only a single perspective under the guidance of the government. The description perspective of a textbook serves as a starting line to establish what and how to look at history for students. In the current history textbooks, the perspective for the description of political history finds the accountability of the ruined nation in the failure of political management from factional politics to power politics. The economic and cultural history is described from the perspective of development with the symbolic elements of Western modernization set as a standard of pursuit. The social history describes the social class system and the rural community society from the perspective of discrimination and conflict. The current history textbooks keep almost the same perspectives and descriptions as the old government-designated textbooks within their larger framework of depicting the aspects of Joseon in its latter part. History textbooks need to have a narrative transition and offer students a chance to understand the times from more diverse perspectives so that they can align with the goals oriented by today''s history education. The descriptions of political history should help students figure out the various patterns of political management and changes during the latter part of Joseon according to historical causal relations. The descriptions of economic and cultural history should focus on development as an objective phenomenon based on proof and comparison and present reasonable historical meanings accordingly. The descriptions of social history should move students closer to the reality of Joseon society during its latter part based on the coexistence of conflict and integration. These proposals will hopefully lead to description changes in history textbooks through collaborations among researchers, teachers, and people concerned.