scholarly journals Why (and how) to teach sensible history?

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Barnabás Vajda
Keyword(s):  
School Environment ◽  
Professional Organization ◽  
History Teachers ◽  
History Teaching ◽  
Scientific Debate ◽  
The Past ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Strong Statement ◽  
History Teacher ◽  
The One

From time to time, the question over the usefulness of history teaching is being raised. My study contributes to the scientific debate over the aims of history education, which seems to stand at a crossroad of an increasingly uncertain school environment on the one hand, and the booming historical reflections of the wide public on the other. The starting point of my study is a strong statement from the Euroclio, a professional organization representing European history teacher associations: "Many European pupils and students have problems understanding the past [...] pupils and students in many European countries have difficulty in seeing any purpose in studying the past, and [they rather] concentrate on topics which are considered useful for their future lives and careers." (Leeuw-Roord, 2004, 97) Can a pluralistic pedagogical system handle this situation sensibly? In case we make efforts to change this situation, an important question is to be answered: In the European school environment, how much time and space and willingness is to rethink our position? The stress should probably be on the potential history teachers and undergraduates.

Radical Tense-Indexical Historicality and the De Se

KronoScope ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 7-27
Author(s):  
Carl Humphries
Keyword(s):  
Alternative View ◽  
The Past ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
De Se ◽  
Temporal Expressions ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The One ◽  
Self Reference ◽  
A Current ◽  
Shed Light

Abstract “Being is said in many ways,” claimed Aristotle, initiating a discussion about existential commitment that continues today. Might there not be reasons to say something similar about “having been,” or “having happened,” where these expressions denote something’s being located in the past? Moreover, if history – construed not only as an object of inquiry (actual events, etc.) but also as a way of casting light on certain matters – is primarily concerned with “things past,” then the question just posed also seems relevant to the question of what historical understanding amounts to. While the idea that ‘being’ may mean different things in different contexts has indisputable importance, the implications of other, past-temporal expressions are elusive. In what might any differences of substantive meaning encountered there consist? One starting point for responding – the one that provides the subject matter explored here – is furnished by the question of whether or not a certain way of addressing matters relating to the past permits or precludes forms of intelligibility that could be said to be ‘radically historical.’ After arguing that the existing options for addressing this issue remain unsatisfactory, I set out an alternative view of what it could mean to endorse or reject such an idea. This involves drawing distinctions and analogies connected with notions of temporal situatedness, human practicality and historicality, which are then linked to a further contrast between two ways of understanding the referential significance of what is involved when we self-ascribe a relation to a current situation in a manner construable as implying that we take ourselves to occupy a unique, yet circumstantially defined, perspective on that situation. As regards the latter, on one reading, the specific kind of indexically referring language we use – commonly labelled “de se” – is something whose rationale is exhausted by its practical utility as a communicative tool. On the other, it is viewed as capturing something of substantive importance about how we can be thought of as standing in relation to reality. I claim that this second reading, together with the line of thinking about self-identification and self-reference it helps foreground, can shed light on what it would mean to affirm or deny the possibility of radically historical forms of intelligibility – and thus also on what it could mean to ascribe a plurality of meanings to talk concerning things being ‘in the past.’

scholarly journals El USALI y la historia de los sistemas uniformes de coste: ¿Un reto hispano?

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 160 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Martin Peña ◽  
Ramon M. Soldevila de Monteys ◽  
Vanesa Berlanga Silvente
Keyword(s):  
Lodging Industry ◽  
Uniform System ◽  
The Past ◽  
The North ◽  
Current Period ◽  
General Plan ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
American Tradition ◽  
Hypothetical System ◽  
The One

Purpose: This study presents an inquiry on the historical evolution of the uniforming movement in cost accounting and its current position in the lodging sector. Its paramount objective is ‘to learn from the past' and, at the same time, to pose a question of future: where are aiming the current techniques of cost management in the lodging industry to? A specific purpose of this inquiry was fixed, on the base of a necessary retrospective look, in outlining and analyzing the actual accounting informative needs of today’s hotel complexes, considering the two main directions that hotel accounting has taken throughout its (long) history in search of uniformity. A uniform purpose that, from 1926 on, the successive versions of the USAH - Uniform System of Accounts for Hotels has being pursuing (an acronym modified in 1996 as USALI - Uniform System of Accounts for Lodging Industries).Design/methodology: This work composes of two parts differentiated and clearly interconnected:In a first study it examines the movement uniform system in its most dynamic period, as they were the years between the two WW (1920 - 1940), its aims and most outstanding contributions, its economic and politician circumstances, social influences, etc.In a second study the interest is focused in the current period and specifically in the Spanish lodging industry, where, by means of the method of the survey and personal interviewing, it aims to evaluate and interpret the degree of need perceived by the managerial agents of the sector about an accounting uniform movement in Spain.Findings: The inquiry offers two types of contributions and results: on the one hand, a reconfiguration of the role exerted by the ‘uniforming’ movement in the history of management accounting; on the other hand, it makes evident, by means of a field inquiry, which are the main informative needs of the lodging sector in Spain, beyond a mere sectorial adaptation of the current general plan of accounting.Originality/value: The authors have focused their inquiry on the big evolutionary lines that have given fruit in the different versions of the USALI, considering its utility as the starting point for a hypothetical system of accounting management adjusted to the needs and idiosyncrasy of the Hispanic sector. One of the main conclusions that can be extracted is that, either by looking at the review of the past or by summarizing the analysis of the present needs, the evidence shows that the European hotel industry faces a pending task that the North American tradition has been successful to channel in a way comparatively more advanced: the fact of having a complete and uniform instrument of accounting information.

scholarly journals From militant voices to militant irony: Examining identity, memory and conflict in the Basque country

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 548-558
Author(s):  
Ignacio Brescó de Luna
Keyword(s):  
Collective Memory ◽  
Basque Country ◽  
The Other ◽  
History Teaching ◽  
Political Actors ◽  
The Past ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
Plural Societies ◽  
The One ◽  
Basque Conflict

Collective memory and identity so often go hand in hand with conflicts. Alongside the use of violence, conflicts unfold against the backdrop of different narratives about the past through which groups constantly remind themselves of the supposed origin of the conflict, and consequently, what position individuals are expected to take as members of the group. Narratives – as symbolic tools for interpreting the past and the present, as well as happenings that have yet to occur – simultaneously underpin, and are underpinned by, the position held by each warring faction. Drawing on previous works, this paper compares different versions of the 2016 truce period in the Basque Country stemming from three subjects identified, to varying degrees, with the main political actors involved in that conflict. These three cases have been selected from a total of 16 participants who were asked to define the Basque conflict and to provide an account of the 2006 truce period by using 23 documents taken from different Spanish newspapers. On the one hand, the results show two narratives reproducing the versions of two of the main political actors involved in the conflict, and on the other hand, a narrative characterized by a more personal and ironic appropriation of those versions. Results are discussed vis-à-vis the use of irony in history teaching in increasingly plural societies.

Lytton Strachey's Conception of Biography

PMLA ◽  
1951 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 295-315
Author(s):  
Charles Richard Sanders
Keyword(s):  
Human Beings ◽  
Ordinary People ◽  
The Past ◽  
A Value ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Gift ◽  
The Subject ◽  
The One ◽  
Point Of Reference ◽  
Individual Human

Human beings are too important to be treated as mere symptoms of the past. They have a value which is independent of any temporal processes—which is eternal, and must be felt for its own sake.“ These two sentences, embedded in the well-known Preface to Eminent Victorians, must always be the starting point and a constant point of reference in any discussion of Strachey's conception of biography. The basis of all good biography must be, he firmly held, the humanistic respect for men—men in their separateness as distinct from lower creatures and in their separateness apart from economical, political, ethical, and religious theories; men in their separateness as distinct from one another, men as individuals, various, living, free. It has been well said that Strachey wrote with ”a glowing conviction that character is the one thing that counts in life“ and with a realization that individual human beings, however simple they may appear, are enigmatical, complex, and compact of contending elements. Each person carries his secret within him, and the biographer is one who has the gift for discerning what it is. Hence individual human beings are not only highly important; they are also highly interesting. The puzzle which the biographer has to solve in dealing with ordinary people is fascinating enough; but when the subject is a great man, the biographer works with his problem in an atmosphere of intense excitement, for about all great men there is something wondrous and incredible.

‘Experts in truth?’: the politics of retribution in Italy and the role of historians

Modern Italy ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 349-363 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paolo Pezzino
Keyword(s):  
War Crimes ◽  
Professional Skills ◽  
The Past ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
War Crimes Trials ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Expert Consultant ◽  
The One ◽  
Judicial Procedure

There have been many reflections on the relations between the judge and the historian which have concentrated on the differences between these two figures: but what happens in cases where an historian collaborates openly with a judge as an expert consultant? What happens when an investigative office, or a court, asks an historian to reconstruct an event which is subject to a judicial procedure, or when he or she has to pronounce the ‘last word’ on an event or a document? Or, in another possible scenario, what happens when a community asks an historian to pronounce on what happened in the past, in order to ascertain which, between two contesting memories of the representation of an event, is the one which corresponds to what ‘really happened’? In these cases historians are sought out to establish the truth–their professional skills as ‘truth experts’ are called upon. And there is an extraordinary faith that the truth will be discovered. The author reflects on these issues, using as a starting point his own personal experiences as a consultant in some recent Italian war-crimes trials.

scholarly journals Historia från kursplan till klassrum: perspektiv på lärares historieundervisning från Lpo 94 till Lgr 11

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Jessica Jarhall
Keyword(s):  
Secondary Schools ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Content Knowledge ◽  
Democratic Citizenship ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Wide Sense ◽  
History Teachers ◽  
History Teaching ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Lower Secondary Schools

The thesis examines how history teachers perceive history teaching in Swedish lower secondary schools during a time-period when two different curricula were in use: Lpo 94 and Lgr 11. The overall aim is to investigate how history can be expressed through teachers' transformation of the subject, from syllabus to classroom. The study focuses mainly on the perceived and the operational curricula, according to Goodlad et als curriculum theory. Transformation and transformation factors, i.e. factors that influence teachers' transformation, are central concepts of the thesis. Those are based on Shulman's theory of pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and teachers' knowledge base. The term transformation is used in a wide sense, including the process of planning, teaching, and evaluation. Theories from both German and Anglo-american history didactics are used to create an analytical model, including three dimensions of historical knowledge and three sets of historical concepts. The model is used to analyze the respondents' stories as content knowledge, disciplinary knowledge and functional knowledge. The empirical material was collected from qualitative interviews with twenty-one history teachers at six different lower secondary schools. In addition to the interviews, teaching material in the form of teacher planning, examinations and other documents were collected. These documents were used to support, or question, the findings in the interviews. The results show that teachers transformed the history subject in several different ways, using the syllabus as starting point. The main factors influencing the teachers' choice of goals, content and methods in their history teaching were the students, the text books and their knowledge base. For the teachers in the second sub-study, the new national test had a profound impact on the choices teachers made. The three dimensions of knowledge, dealing with content (substantive knowledge), metahistorical concepts and skills (procedural knowledge), and value related issues (meaning) in history proved to be important in history teaching, both before and after Lgr 11. Although the main emphasis on knowledge as content was a continuity, the disciplinary aspects have gained importance during the period. All teachers also took the dimension of meaning into their teaching. A specific result shows that teachers who taught in multi-cultural classrooms especially saw identity and democratic citizenship as important aspects of their teaching. Another important result is that the national tests had a great impact on teachers after Lgr 11. The study also showed that history teachers were affected by the educational context, i.e. accountability, a strong emphasis on the quality of education and increased control.

scholarly journals The changing nature of enterprise: Addressing the challenge of Vesper and Gartner

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 430-437 ◽  
Author(s):  
Colin Jones ◽  
Kathryn Penaluna ◽  
Andy Penaluna ◽  
Harry Matlay
Keyword(s):  
Teaching Practice ◽  
Scholarship Of Teaching ◽  
The Past ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Start Up ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Enterprise Education ◽  
New Ideas ◽  
Exciting Time ◽  
The One

During the course of the past 30 years, a challenge made to entrepreneurship educators has gone unaddressed. While acknowledging that there has never been a more exciting time to be an enterprise educator, we suggest that there has also never been a more challenging time. On the one hand, the changing nature of employment landscapes globally is forcing a freelancer world on us all. In this new world, our students must increasingly be capable of developing an enterprising career, regardless of any additional start-up aspirations. Conversely, the legitimacy of our teaching practice remains challenged at a level slightly above the student–educator interface. These concerns tend to question our collective purpose and relevance. This article seeks to offer a holistic framework through which enterprise and entrepreneurship educators can act in greater unison. In doing so, it also aims to move us collectively on from the current focus of our scholarly writings to analyse more deeply how we promote and define our purpose and relevance as enterprise and entrepreneurship educators. Our observations inform us that the greater challenge lies not in finding a starting point for new ideas in enterprise education, but rather in engaging all key stakeholders and developing an inclusive scholarship of teaching. At a time when higher education stands accused of failing graduates, we offer leadership on addressing long-running challenges in our field of education.

scholarly journals Using films in the development of historical consciousness: Research, theory and teacher practice

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Debra Donnelly
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Reality ◽  
Teacher Practice ◽  
Implementation Strategies ◽  
Historical Consciousness ◽  
First Century ◽  
Learning Spaces ◽  
History Teaching ◽  
The Past ◽  
History Teacher ◽  
Using Data

In the digitally reliant twenty-first century, the exclusivity of printed sources for investigating and interpreting the past has been eroded, and other modes of historical interpretations, such as film, virtual reality simulations and online museums, have found a growing audience and influence. History education has followed suit in Australia, with a range of multimodal sources commonly featured in history teaching programmes (Donnelly, 2018). Film has become an increasingly popular choice as teachers strive to engage a student population accustomed to multimodality, and with technological upgrades facilitating viewings in learning spaces (Donnelly, 2014a). Using data from history teacher practice studies, this paper argues that films have the potential to impact historical consciousness, and proposes a model of the pedagogical mechanisms at work in these instances. Implementation strategies and practices are further illustrated by reference to two teaching protocol exemplars, the weekly plans of which are included in the paper.

From theory to empirical research

2010 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 96-100
Author(s):  
Christoph Ulf
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Research ◽  
Empirical Analysis ◽  
Empirical Data ◽  
Research Work ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Past ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The One ◽  
Scientific Argument

Sofia Voutsaki has developed a very stimulating line of thought in her paper. In my view, one of the laudable traits of this paper is that it is characterized by the same tripartite structure which actually lies behind each scientific argument. Consciously or not, all of us start with a theory or a set of assumptions; we then proceed to methods in order to achieve our goal, i.e. to arrive at transparent interpretations of the past through empirical analysis. The analysis of empirical data is the end of the process, not its starting point, even if many people think it would be the beginning of our daily research work. The claim that the use of theory is unavoidable is often denied. Sofia Voutsaki's goal, as I understand it, is to make an attempt to narrow the gap between, on the one hand, mainly theory-driven research and, on the other, empirical analysis which is thought to be free from the unnecessary ‘burden’ of theory.

scholarly journals Geschichtsdidaktische Perspektive auf die 'Vormoderne'

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Content Knowledge ◽  
History Education ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
History Teachers ◽  
Pedagogical Content ◽  
The Past ◽  
Subject Specific ◽  
The One ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Practical Implications

Current research shows the importance of interaction between content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge for history teachers. This is considered effective for the design of history lessons. But even beyond these practical implications, the question of the relationship between historical studies and history education is of great importance. Both approaches have a common object: the past. However, the methodically approaches to the past follow different ways. While historical scholarship reconstructs the past by using sources, history education is dedicated to the reception of history. A dialogue between these two approaches can expand the boundaries of both disciplines with new insights. The anthology is dedicated to such an interlocking of historical research and history education using the example of pre-modern history. In the essays, perspectives opened up by scholars are supplemented by comments from history educators. Thus, on the one hand, it is reflected how subject-specific research could enrich teaching in schools and universities. In addition, these findings are classified in terms of historical theory and empirics.

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