Abstract
Commemoration of World War I (WWI), and specifically the Gallipoli campaign, holds a significant place in the Australian public imagination. This is currently heightened with the WWI centenary commemorations (2014–18) occurring on a local, national and international scale. In the current political climate, there has been a resurgence of nationalism amid fear of terrorist attacks and uncertain political futures. Traditionally, history education has been considered, by some, a tool for the promotion of national identity, despite history education literature and many curriculum documents increasingly focused on fostering historical consciousness in students. The Gallipoli campaign, and subsequent Anzac mythology, has maintained a strong focus in Australia as a means of promotion, and often celebration, of Australian culture in public history, including personal and familial connections via ancestral participation in WWI. This article explores the types of historical education conducted in three high schools. As part of a regular history lesson, students were provided with five sources and a series of questions to answer about the Gallipoli campaign as a historical and commemorative event. Students' responses are analysed in this paper using Jörn Rüsen's typology of historical consciousness (Rüsen, 2004) to gain an understanding of how students think about the commemoration of the Gallipoli campaign. Specifically, this paper is interested in students' navigation of collective memory and nationalistic narratives evident in the public sphere and popular culture, and how these inform a sense of historical consciousness.
Highlights
In the lead-up to and during the centenary commemorations of World War I (WWI), Australian commemorative events continue to occur on a national and international scale
Given the complexity and contradictions surrounding the Gallipoli campaign in Australian public history, this research was interested in students’ navigation of collective memory and nationalistic narratives evident in the public sphere and popular culture, and how these inform a sense of historical consciousness surrounding the Gallipoli campaign
Students are clear that perspectives other than those of Australian soldiers were missing from the sources provided, such as those of nurses and Indigenous Australians, as well as soldiers from other countries
Summary
In the lead-up to and during the centenary commemorations of World War I (WWI), Australian commemorative events continue to occur on a national and international scale. The Gallipoli campaign, at least in the beginning years of the commemorations, featured prominently in public remembrance events and associated activities. Since 2015, commemorations have moved away from such a strong focus on Gallipoli, and especially encouraged by other funding initiatives, there is an increased focus on the history and commemoration of Australia’s participation on the Western Front in Belgium and France. Australia’s frequently nationalistic focus on its participation in WWI comes at a time of upheaval in world current events. Over the past two decades, despite globalization continuing and expanding, with concepts such as global village being touted, there has been a rise in nationalist agendas.
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