Opening the Mind or Drawing Boundaries?

Þorsteinn Helgason is Associate Professor for History Education at the University of Iceland, Reykjavik/Iceland.

Prof. Dr. Simone Lässig ist Direktorin des Deutschen Historischen Instituts Washington DC.

History texts studied by students in schools are an important field for drawing boundaries between nations, beliefs, ethnic groups and countries, sometimes causing disputes and protests. Even in the democratic and peaceful Nordic countries, history texts carry a message of authorized content knowledge and situated values. At the same time, they are meant to foster the critical mind, a skillfull eye and a tolerant spirit.In this volume, scholars from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden explore the question of "Us and the Others" in Nordic textbooks and educational media and focus on teachers' opinions and use of history texts, partly based on a survey among Nordic history teachers in elementary and secondary schools. The questions dealt with are of national identity and multiculturalism, sameness and difference, content and pedagogy, skills and values, goals of history education and teachers' situations. The scholars and teachers compare the educational and societal aims with the actual teaching materials at hand. The potentialities and limitations of textbooks and other educational media are investigated and discussed.