A/68/296 (g) Using particular terms or phrases to convey a specific understanding of events (e.g. using terms such as “war of liberation” or “conquest”, “uprising” or “war of independence”, “revolution” or “counter-revolution” and “catastrophe”); (h) The use of apodictic language that leaves no room for doubt and forecloses debate and dilemma; (i) Specific linguistic styles, figures of speech, metaphors and other means that, by dramatizing certain historical events, achieve desired emotions among pupils (primarily the use of hate speech). As with brutal photographs, the purpose is to create fear, which provides a good foundation and motivation for revenge afterwards; 15 (j) Constructing a mythical past of one’s own people, its place in history and its characteristics. Common elements include stressing the superiority of one’s own nation over the other and creating the impression that “we” never waged wars of conquest or behaved unjustly. This can create a historical indulgence for present or future actions. An important component is projecting the impression of a victim nation, so as to secure a permanent moral and political privilege that can be “redeemed” in the present, either in the context of international relations or as a means of social cohesion within State borders; 16 (k) Skipping over or underplaying defeats while emphasizing the victories, so as to suggest that the nation was always on the “right” side of history and never harmed anyone; (l) Transmission of a particular philosophy of history. Many ideologies presume a strong historical determinism, presenting events as predetermined and unavoidable. This eliminates any awareness of the importance of individuals, groups and different parts of society who influence historical events and the decisionmaking process. E. Supplementary teaching materials and activities 71. While States should always ensure that educational material is exempt from hate speech, it is essential to allow the use of supplementary teaching material in classes without requiring the permission of the authorities. Such material can follow the curriculum, but also take up subjects outside the required programme. This is particularly important when history teaching is predominantly set up as a political endeavour. Supplementary material allows the teacher to introduce pupils to domains of history other than political history, which often hold pupils’ attention more than narrow political history. 72. Ideally, additional supplementary material should include primary historical sources that bring pupils closer to the periods being studied. Working with historical sources requires a critical approach, especially when teachers point out sources that interpret the same event differently. __________________ 15 16 13-42291 See David R. Olson, “On the language and authority of textbooks”, in Language, Authority and Criticism: Readings on the School Textbook, Suzanne de Castell, Allan Luke and Carmen Luke, eds. (London, Falmer Press, 1989), p. 241. See Peter Burke, Varieties of Cultural History (Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 1997), p. 53; and P. Nora and F. Chandernagor, Liberté pour l’histoire (Paris, Editions du CNRS, 2008). 19/27