Common-Sense Notions of “Nation”: A Challenge for Teaching

Abstract

This article examines how students' common-sense conceptualizations of “nation,” specifically the Swedish nation, operate in teaching situations in which a critical constructivist theory of “nation” is part of the curriculum. Taking its point of departure from discussions of conceptual change, this article examines how students negotiate common-sense notions and how these notions affect students' learning processes. We examine group discussions from two different undergraduate courses at a Swedish university. The article discusses obstacles and opportunities for students to understand the concept of “nation” from a constructivist perspective and to challenge the concept of “nation” as a given and natural entity. We find several discursive repertoires in the material. Three of these repertoires are scrutinized to discover how common-sense notions work. The repertories are multifaceted and can function in ways that facilitate as well as block denaturalization. The results show that common-sense understandings remain with the students even if they learn to account for constructivist perspectives. Furthermore, the results demonstrate that students' understandings of scholarly discussions of “nation” are complex and that resisting the content of a specific theory may, in some cases, be productive in terms of learning.