La guerre comme mythe fondateur de l'identité nationale : discours d'enseignants en formation

Abstract

This paper presents our analysis of the discourse held by students enrolled in a high school history teacher education program relative to armed conflicts, the role they play in Quebec’s history, and their relevance to the history and citizenship education curriculum. We sought to determine what type of identity emerged from the use of war as a founding myth in history teaching in Québec. The results of this analysis have led us to question the kind of shared destiny project built by future high school history teachers through the mythologization of war. If, as Taylor suggests*, this project encompasses how citizens engage with the nation, and examining the nature of the various types of engagement resulting from future teachers’ inherent conceptions of war erected as a myth may help understand how war is eventually presented to students.