Pursuing Historical Truth: The Discourse of History Teachers in Teaching the History of 30 September Movement in Indonesia

Abstract

The most controversial issue in history teaching in Indonesia is the history of the 30 September Movement. History teachers have to deal with seven versions of the narrative presented in history textbooks and a bunch of pseudohistories invented by students from the Internet and social media outlets. This research analyzes the discourse of history teachers in teaching the history of the 30 September Movement in Indonesia. Critical discourse analysis based on the socio-cognitive approach was used to analyze the perception and attitudes of 25 history teachers in five cities in Indonesia. The findings of the research show two typologies of history teachers in dealing with the history of the 30 September Movement. The first is the conformist history teachers who try to accept and confirm the official history but feel confused when dealing with other narratives. The second is the objectivist history teachers who try to criticize the official narrative but are afraid to express it in the learning process. They tend to believe in one narrative to be the historical truth that closely relates to the narratives in history textbooks. Based on the findings, it can be pointed out that history teachers need an appropriate pedagogical approach that accommodates multiple narratives in teaching controversial histories such as the history of the 30 September Movement.