Contract and Contrast: The Subject of History and its Relation to Students, 1905-2005. (1st November 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Ammert, Niklas
• Is Part Of: International journal of historical learning, teaching and research. Volume 12:Number 2(2014)
• Page Start: 46
• Page End: 63
• Publication Date: 2014-11-01
• Subjects: History -- Study and teaching; History -- Research; Periodicals; 907
• DOI: 10.18546/HERJ.12.2.05
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1472-9474

Abstract

This paper traces changes in history textbooks and syllabi in Sweden over the past hundred years, not in terms of content, in which the 'Grand Narrative' changes, little but in the different meanings conveyed by the books to students because of the ways in which they are written at different periods. It suggests reasons for the changes. The earlier examples of books and syllabi suggest that in the past life was better than the present; interpretations are linked to understanding contemporary concerns, not to the values of other times. By the late 1960s the emphasis in books is on progress, on the past as different and not as good as the present. In syllabi the student is central, and the starting point is what is current, local, relevant and of interest to the student. By the 1980s there is a stronger social perspective. Most recently the books draw student into the past through fictionalized accounts, adapting to the new media landscape and making links with the students' experiences. Gradually students are encouraged to 'weave themselves into the past' and to realize that their decisions influence the future, a position very similar to the concept of historical consciousness.