The ways that nationalism and national identity are presented in the Canadian curriculum put teachers in a position of absurdist ambiguity between modernist mythic structure and a postmodern classroom reality that contradicts that structure argues Richardson (secondary education, U. of Alberta, Canada). This absurdist position places teachers on the margins of discourse over curricula and is responsible for the sterile representations of national identity presented in Canadian schools. He argues that postmodernism and hermeneutics offer more dynamic and democratic approaches to teaching national identity. This approach would recognize different narratives, refusing to portray minority cultures simply in terms of their contributions to the development of the dominant culture. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
