HISTORY IN THE TEXTS WRITTEN ACCORDING TO THE NATIONAL LITERARY CANON

Abstract

This paper takes as a starting point the understanding of the human construct of „history“ as one of key significance in the identity processes (both personal and collective processes) taking into consideration its discoursive nature. We examine the complex, ambiguous inclusion of this construct in the texts of the national literary canon as stipulated by the secondary school curriculum of Bulgarian language and literature. The mere fact of its presence there makes teachers face the challenges of interpreting texts in a particular manner and at the same time provides them with the opportunity to analyse, together with students, the various ways of „using history“ and its potential to manipulate. This, however, is how we can teach young people to think out of the box and be proactive in the processes that define the essence of the modern world.