Teaching the Empire: Education and State Loyalty in Late Habsburg Austria

Central European Studies

by Scott O. Moore

Teaching the Empire explores how Habsburg Austria utilized education to cultivate the patriotism of its people. Public schools have been a tool for patriotic development in Europe and the United States since their creation in the nineteenth century. On a basic level, this civic education taught children about their state while also articulating the common myths, heroes, and ideas that could bind society together. For the most part historians have focused on the development of civic education in nation-states like Germany, France, and the United Kingdom. There has been an assumption that the multinational Habsburg Monarchy did not, or could not, use their public schools for this purpose. Teaching the Empire proves this was not the case.

Through a robust examination of the civic education curriculum used in the schools of Habsburg from 1867-1914, Moore demonstrates that Austrian authorities attempted to forge a layered identity rooted in loyalties to an individual's home province, national group, and the empire itself. Far from seeing nationalism as a zero-sum game, where increased nationalism decreased loyalty to the state, officials felt that patriotism could only be strong if regional and national identities were equally strong. The hope was that this layered identity would create a shared sense of belonging among populations that may not share the same cultural or linguistic background.



Austrian civic education was part of every aspect of school life--from classroom lessons to school events. This research revises long-standing historical notions regarding civic education within Habsburg and exposes the complexity of Austrian identity and civil society, deservedly integrating the Habsburg Monarchy into the broader discussion of the role of education in modern society.

282 pages, Paperback

Published May 15, 2020

About the author

Scott Moore is a historian who examines the connections between history, historical memory, and folklore. He is an associate professor of history at Eastern Connecticut State University, was a 2012-2013 Fulbright Mach Scholar, and received his PhD from the University of Maryland College Park. He is a native of Virginia Beach, Virginia.

For a complete list of publications, including journal articles and book chapters, please visit the Academia profile listed above.

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Reviews

[Mary Catelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

An overview of Austria-Hungarian education.

Starting with the schools, and such factors as the rural population getting half-days to fit all the students, and how the parents resented even that much loss of their children's labor. Then focusing on the civic education parts. History and geography focused on their country, and often their special area. The dynasty being consistently praised as mild, pious, unwilling to go to war, living simple lives, devoted to the good of their people, and often intellectual. With emphases here and there. Maria Theresa being praised for the wisdom that she picked wise councilors with.

And other elements of history, such as presenting a battle as decisive in proving Napoleon could be defeated, or spinning the uprisings of 1848 as three separate things.

And rather more.