The portrayal of women in history curricula and textbooks in Lebanon: A history of systematic exclusion

Abstract

The discipline of history has been largely dominated by men who were shaping the narratives. This gender inequality has been also reflected in history education, particularly in national history textbooks. Attempts to reinstate women in the field of history have emerged with the feminist movement particularly in 1960s to date. In this study we examine women in Lebanese history textbooks. Whilst Lebanon has not been able to develop a new history curriculum since 1960s, there are currently a few series of textbooks published by different private publishers. Through a content analysis of two of the main textbook series, the study found that women were almost fully absent except for a few minor appearances that often appeared in passing and a few images. Their presence was often related to their relationship with men (wife, mother) who were deemed to be of historical significance. Women were also excluded from authoring the textbooks. More remarkably there were only a few studies examining gender in Lebanese textbooks. Addressing this long history of marginalization of women in the Lebanese curriculum and textbooks, including in history, requires efforts on various levels of the Ministry of Education, including the representation of women in history education curriculum committees, a feminist perspective on history and a study of women in history. Finally, historians as well as higher education institutes have a major responsibility in deconstructing the gender gap and bias in history education.