The myth of neutrality: whiteness and the teaching of colonial history in francophone Belgium

Abstract This article explores how secondary school history teachers in francophone Belgium navigate the ideal of neutrality when teaching colonial history. Drawing on interview and focus group data, it examines the ways in which teachers negotiate the tension between institutional expectations and their own pedagogical and ethical commitments. While neutrality is often presented as a professional norm, the analysis suggests it is neither neutral nor apolitical. Rather, it can depoliticize content and reinforce dominant Eurocentric narratives. The article identifies a range of teacher stances—sometimes contradictory, often shifting—that reflect the pressures and complexities of the classroom. It introduces the notion of tactical neutrality to describe how teachers strategically engage with the idea of neutrality, often as a way to manage discomfort or avoid controversy. Beyond its empirical findings, the article contributes to broader philosophical debates on the ethics of teaching controversial issues by questioning what neutrality does in practice and whose perspectives it legitimizes—or excludes.