Thesis Abstract The thesis deals with the visual content of the media of official memory, in particular the visual material of history textbooks and the exhibition of the National Museum. It examines the formal and content features of the representation of four key events of modern Czechoslovak and Czech history which entered the awareness of the general public as "eight" events: the founding of Czechoslovakia (1918), the signing of the Munich Agreement (1938), the communist coup (1948) and the invasion of the Warsaw Pact armies (1968). Moreover, it relates the modes of representation of these events to the issue of the political transition of 1989. By means of mixed methods research, it examines a sample of textbooks published during the communist era (1967, 1973, 1982, 1983, 1983), the post-communist era (1995, 1996, 1999, 1999, 2000, 2009, 2011) and the exhibits from the permanent exhibition Crossroads of Czech and Czechoslovak Statehood (opened in 2009). In its findings, the thesis presents 34 visual memory figures related to the representation of the selected historical events. It points out the circulation of these images between the medium of the textbook and the historical exposition, thus following the dynamic concept of memory discussed in the theoretical part of the thesis. It finds both...

Begreppet historiemedvetande återfinns i den inledande syftestexten för ämnet historia i grundskolan. Begreppet beskrivs vara inflätat i elevens förståelse för hur det förflutna samspelar med det nutida och ska ge eleven perspektiv på framtiden. Historiemedvetande är ett nyckelbegrepp i historiedidaktiken och har en roll i syftet med ämnet.  Varierande benämningar på begreppet historiemedvetande enligt tidigare forskning och sökandet på hur undervisningen ska planeras för att främja utvecklingen av elevernas historiemedvetande föranleder syftet med föreliggande studie. För att uppnå studiens syfte där frågeställningar ämnar besvara hur verksamma lärare tolkar och använder begreppet historiemedvetande i mellanstadiet användes semistrukturerade kvalitativa intervjuer med fem lärare. Resultatet analyserades utifrån valda teman som diskuteras i förhållande till tidigare forskning och det sociokulturella perspektivet i resultats diskussionen. Resultatet till studien visar att det finns arbetssätt som gynnar elevernas historiemedvetande och att det finns utmaningar med att arbeta med begreppet. Arbetssätt som lärarna beskriver är att arbeta med närområdet, moment som innehåller diskussioner och att använda digitala verktyg. Utmaningar beskrivs vara när eleverna inte kan koppla sitt eget liv till svensk historia och att läromedel inte alltid tillgodoser möjligheten att utveckla elevernas historiemedvetande. / The concept of historical consciousness is found in the introductory aim text for the subject history in middle school. The concept is described as intertwined in the pupil's understanding of how the past interacts with the present and should give the pupil a perspective on the future. Historical consciousness is a key concept in history didactics and has a role in the purpose of the subject.  Varying names for the concept of historical consciousness according to previous research and the search for how teaching should be planned to promote the development of pupil's historical consciousness give rise to the purpose of the present study. To achieve the purpose of the study, where questions intend to answer how active teachers interpret and use the concept of historical consciousness in middle school, semi-structured qualitative interviews with five teachers were used. The results were analysed based on selected themes that are discussed in relation to previous research and the socio-cultural perspective in the results discussion. The results of the study show that there are working methods that benefit pupil´s consciousness of history and that there are challenges in working with the concept. The working methods that the teachers describe are to work with the local area, elements that contain discussions and to use digital tools. Challenges are described as being when pupil´s cannot connect their own lives to Swedish history and that teaching materials do not always satisfy the opportunity to develop historical consciousness.

The purpose of this study is to compare how pre-service teacher students describe historical consciousness, concerning if they are studying their first or last history course. The concept historical consciousness was chosen because of its central role in the Swedish curriculum for the history subject. To achieve the study’s purpose eight pre-service teacherswere qualitatively interviewed. Five of the eight students studied their first history course, while the remaining three studied their last history course. The two theories that made up the theoretical framework of the study was Rüsen’s three principles for narrative competence as well as Jensen’s five processes of historical consciousness. The result of the studyshows that a clear majority of the students described historical consciousness as a method of learning from historical mistakes. This trend was clear with both groups of students. This study also shows that a majority of students had difficulties with the future’s role in historical consciousness. One out of the eight students made clear and continuous references between the three tenses past, present and future. The result reveal that the teacher education should focus more on the three tenses past, present, and future in relation to practical teaching situations. This to make historical consciousness more practical for the student teachers.

The purpose of this study is to explore the popular computer game Europa Universalis IV and how the use of history looks inside the game and its potential use during lessons.There is also a second purpose to this study and it is to shine some light on how students between the ages of thirteen and fifteen think about history-based videogames and their use in a classroom situation. In order to get the some answers from the students I created a survey that was sent out to two schools in Sweden. The survey contained, among other things, questions about the students’ own experiences with history-based games and if they had learned anything by playing them. Another thing the surveyasked about was their opinion on games being used during class and what advantages and disadvantages they bring forth. The result of both studies was really interesting in their own way. For the first part EU4 is a complicated game which uses history to a great extent, somtimes in a good and educational way, but also in a way to make money. Secondly, the survey that was sent out to the schools gave some inspired answers. They showed that our studnets today are aware of the different ways history can be used, as well as what the games can teach us. Finally, this survey also showed that our young students have wise thoughts about the pros and cons with computer games during class.

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Syftet med detta arbete är att undersöka vilken roll de estetiska lärprocesserna i historisk verkstad kan spela för att utveckla elevers historiemedvetande och historiska empati. Detta har undersökts genom att intervjua sex lärare som varit på Stavgards järnålderslägerskola med sina klasser. I undersökningen konstateras att historiska verkstäder är uppskattade bland lärare och elever och att det prioriteras i undervisningen trots att det innebär en stor ekonomisk ansträngning för skolan. De estetiska lärprocesserna representeras på Stavgard genom praktiskt arbete, berättelser och i viss mån drama. Vistelsen på Stavgard skapar en gemensam referensram för lärare och klass, utifrån vilken historiemedvetande byggs under kommande historieundervisning. På lägerskolan lever eleverna järnåldersliv under två dagar och undersökningen visar att eleverna genom att själv få uppleva järnåldersmänniskornas umbäranden utvecklar historisk empati. Utöver detta beskrivs också hur för- och efterarbetet i samband med Stavgardsvistelsen utformas av de olika lärarna. / The aim of this study is to investigate what role the aesthetic learning processes in historical workshops can play in developing students' historical consciousness and historical empathy. This has been investigated by interviewing six teachers who have been at Stavgard iron age camp school with their classes. The survey found that historical workshops are appreciated among teachers and students and that it is a priority in the teaching, even though this means a great financial effort for the school. The aesthetic learning processes are represented at Stavgard through practical work, stories and to some extent drama. The stay at Stavgard creates a common frame of reference for teachers and class, based on which historical consciousness is built during future history teaching. At the camp school, the pupils practice iron age life for two days, and the study shows that the pupils themselves by experiencing the hardship of the Iron Age people develop historical empathy. In addition to this, it is also described how the pre- and post-work in connection with the stay at Stavgard is designed by the different teachers.

What do history teachers teach about? How do they represent it? Why do they choose to teach the way they do? The main purpose of this study is to analyse what teaching patterns and strategies history teachers in lower secondary schools use in their history teaching for pupils aged 13-16. An additional aim is to get hold of how teachers transform their knowledge and experiences into history teaching. The results are then compared to previous research concerning teaching strategies for history teachers in upper secondary schools. The language the teachers use when they talk about their teaching is also compared to the language found in the field of history didactic research.   Through interviews with five experienced history teachers in two different school contexts their own speech about what they regard as the aim of the teaching of history, what they choose to teach about and what methods they use in history teaching make the foundation for this empirical study. It is the teachers’ words about their own practice, i.e. the thought processes of experienced teachers that are in focus.   Although the study is based on the method of semi-structured qualitative interviews and in some aspects can be regarded as a Grounded Theory study, one theoretical point of view is developed from the thoughts around transformation of the subject history. It concerns how the teachers approach history teaching and what factors the teachers talk about as the main factors of influence.   The study shows both similarities and differences between the teachers’ teaching patterns and strategies as well as between the teachers at lower secondary schools compared to those who teach at upper secondary schools. There seem to be individual patterns for each teacher where their subject matter competence alongside with their personal experiences and interest for the subject history are factors that seem to influence the way the teachers teach. The pupils are one main factor that seems to be important for the teachers in lower secondary schools, as is the use of the national curriculum when planning their teaching. Concerning transformation the question about what methods to use is observed to be the most central. The didactic why, what and how-questions in history teaching are found to be intertwined, and together they build what can be viewed as a teacher’s subject didactic teaching pattern. There are only hints that some of the teachers have developed more sustainable and consequent strategies for their history teaching. One result is that teachers, although they in some sense talk about historical didactic concepts, lack a historical didactic vocabulary to talk about their teaching. / Baksidestext Vad väljer historielärare att undervisa om, vilka metoder används och varför gör lärarna de val de gör? I denna studie intervjuas fem erfarna högstadielärare i två olika skolkontexter. Lärarnas tal om vilka mål, vilket innehåll och vilka metoder som har varit mest centrala under deras senast genomförda historieundervisning ligger till grund för en beskrivning och tolkning av den didaktiska processen där lärare omformar sina ämneskunskaper och erfarenheter till konkret undervisning. De termer och begrepp lärarna använder när de talar om sin historieundervisning är liksom de omformningsfaktorer som påverkar lärarna i den didaktiska processen också av intresse. Resultatet visar att lärarna har funnit särskilda sätt att hantera skolämnet historia vilka kan betraktas som en lärares undervisningsmönster eller, i de fall där mönstret är mer varaktigt och sammanhållet, kan benämnas undervisningsstrategi. Studiens resultat visar både likheter och skillnader mellan lärarna, samt i jämförelse med tidigare studier av gymnasielärares undervisningsstrategier. Det språk lärarna använder liknar snarare den vokabulär som syns i läroplaner och läroböcker än det språk som används i historiedidaktisk forskning.

In recent years, the Swedish educational system has undergone considerable change. A new curriculum and swift digitization via the implementation of the "one-to-one" system have increased the call for new teaching methods in schools. Previous research indicates that working with primary sources can enhance students’ historical thinking and historical empathy. The present licentiate dissertation aims to investigate Swedish upper secondary school students’ use of critical thinking and historical empathy when utilizing digitized primary sources, such as the parish registers stored in the Demographic Data Base at Umeå University.         Five classes in grades 1-3, comprising 110 students, in the ages 16 to 19, and three teachers participated in the study. The students were assigned with compiling a report based on the digitised primary source material and presenting their findings in a written paper or oral presentation. The study was evaluated through (1) interviews with students and teachers, (2) classroom observation of the students while working with the material, (3) questionnaires on the students´ view of history, and (4) the completed assignments.           The study shows that all the students achieved some result based on the information found in the digitised primary sources. While they applied historical empathy and historical thinking, it was mixed with presentism. The majority did not make use of corroboration, but those who did displayed more examples of historical thinking and historical empathy, primarily evident in grades 2 and 3 and in the free discussions held after the presentations. The students’ perception of primary sources shifted as a result of this exercise: Their preference for using primary sources had increased, although their trust in primary sources had simultaneously decreased. Teachers and students alike were generally satisfied with the assignment but argued that the database needed improvement in order to enhance its usefulness. Over the course of the assignment, students frequently expressed that the individuals in the digitized material came to life for them, generating feelings of empathy.         The study’s contribution to history didactics is twofold. First, it clearly demonstrates how upper secondary students can make use of historical thinking and historical empathy when studying digitised parish records, even though they have difficulty contextualizing their results. Secondly, it provides insight into how Swedish students learn history and the kind of history that interests them. The results are predominantly in agreement with those from previous studies but this study is pioneering in basing its findings on primary sources that are digitised. / En dator till varje elev, det som ofta kallas en-till-en, har skapat nya förutsättningar för undervisning. I denna studie får gymnasieelever arbeta med digitaliserade primärkällor i historieundervisningen. Elevernas förmåga att använda historiskt tänkande, historisk empati och kontextualisering undersöks, och elevernas inställning till historieämnet kartläggs före och efter mötet med de digitaliserade källorna. Samtliga elever klarar av att genomföra sökningar i det digitaliserade källmaterialet, och de uppvisar i högre eller lägre grad historiskt tänkande, historisk empati och kontextualisering under lektionerna och i sina skriftliga och muntliga redovisningar. Elevernas inställning till historieämnet påverkas i viss mån. Främst förändras deras syn på primärkällor.

The present study explores the reception of historical feature films in history education. It is concerned with how pupils experience the films as well as the significance of the feature film for their understanding and interpretation of history. The study incorporates empirical data from classroom projects in two different Swedish upper secondary schools where film was used as an educational tool. Observations of classroom activities were made and interviews with twelve pupils and their history teachers were conducted. The study applies a phenomenological approach. The lifeworld of the pupils is in focus, specifically the aspect of the lifeworld they live and experience in history class when film is used as a means of understanding the past. The phenomenon studied is thus how the pupils experience the film, and through the film, history itself. Theoretical notions from film reception studies and history didactics are used as analytic tools. The study shows how emotional and cognitive processes converge in the pupils’ meaning making of the films. The embodiment of the films’ narrative is an important factor that contributes to both the understanding of the film as well as of history. The pupils experience the films emotionally, feeling both empathy and antipathy for the various characters, physically through sight and sound as well as embodied reactions, and cognitively through an understanding of the film’s narrative. Embodied experience is fundamental for history to become materialized. The audiovisual portrayal and materialization of the past becomes embodied in the pupils so that the experience of the film and of the historical lifeworld presented therein becomes part of their lifeworld. Generally, pupils consider the films to be trustworthy, though this perceived accuracy depends on how authentically the narrative is performed and the pupils’ previous store of historical knowledge.  A didactic dilemma to consider when using historical feature film in the classroom is the contradiction between the aesthetic experience of a feature film and its use as a tool for understanding the past. The captivating character of feature film evokes empathy and engagement with the films’ characters regardless of the degree of historical accuracy. This is a critical issue for teachers; there needs to be balance between respect for the pupils’ aesthetic experience of the film and the need to guide them to develop for example the skills of historical empathy, where distance is necessary for the pupils to be able to consider different perspectives.

Scandinavian prehistory has hitherto received little attention in the field of history didactics. In Swedish schools, it is taught in the lower grades in accordance with traditional periodization: the Stone Age, Bronze Age, Iron Age and the Viking Age. The aim of the present thesis is to provide an overview of Scandinavian prehistory as presented by 20th- and early 21st-century history textbooks and to trace its development and revisions. These revisions are situated in relation to contemporary society and concurrent developments in archaeological research. This study attempts to demonstrate the extent to which history textbooks and archaeological research correspond. In a long-term perspective, the textbooks form a developmental chain in which the gradual revision of historical culture is made manifest. As presented in the textbooks, prehistoric history expresses a historical culture valid in the context of a particular era. The concept of cultural memory, a memory that extends so far back in history that it can only be mediated by someone with expert knowledge (e.g. teachers, journalists or scholars), is applied in order to observe changes in its description. Cultural memory reveals how some stories constantly recur, while others are neglected or forgotten. The textbooks have been compared to standard archaeological works and their development and revisions have been examined from dual perspectives - "story" as cultural memory and gender. The present thesis reveals that most of the stories have been remembered and repeated for more than a century, though interpretations sometimes change along with changes in society and progress in research. A gender perspective elucidates the chores and activities ascribed to prehistoric men and women, respectively, and the changes they have undergone. Although archaeological findings have been influenced by gender research, this study indicates that society itself has had the greatest impact on the treatment of gender in the textbooks. Perceptions of "male" and "female" have changed and women have been become visible after previously being as good as ignored. Both history textbooks and archaeological research are clearly affected by general trends in society and the textbooks under investigation have evolved from focusing on nationalistic aspects and the predominance of men to assigning equal value to people of all cultures and to the sexes.