Thesis (Ph.D.)--Bowling Green State University, 2006. / Document formatted into pages; contains vii, 203 p. Includes bibliographical references.

Images are used in history education for a variety of reasons, not least to generate interest through a better understanding of historical events and people. The aim of this study was to investigate how historical pictures, either illustrated or documentary/photographic, can be used as a resource for activating and improving pupils' historical empathy, in the way described by Stéphane Lévasque. I conducted a reception study on five different focus groups consisting of pupils from different upper secondary schools in Sweden. The pupils varied with regard to number of credits for admission to upper secondary school. A sixth group of pupils was interviewed as a contrasting control group in order to add perspective to the results. The discussions were based on the pupils' interpretations of 34 selected pictures, all of which were taken from the most common history textbooks. Each pupil was asked to choose the picture he/she felt was the most representative historical image. On the basis of the strategies used by the pupils when interpreting the pictures and discussing them, the material was analysed in accordance with Lévesque's categories: imagination, historical contextualisation and morals. The last category, morals, was further divided into three sub-categories: sense of justice, sympathy and progression. The reflections of the pupils and the degree of contextualisation varied. It appeared that the pupils were less inclined to discuss assumptions about the persons in the pictures; instead they chose to discuss the historical context in question. The pictures in this study did not seem to trigger the pupils to fabricate anachronistic reasoning about history; when they did produce lengthy reasoning, it was contextual, structural and metahistorical. In this context, the pupils who belonged to the group with the highest average of credits showed some signs of reflection on the basis of historical context and some criticism about the historical sources. On no occasion did any of the pupils choose a picture as a concrete expression of injustice. One of the questions this study aimed to explore was whether a lack of historical context affects how pictures trigger emotions and reasoning on the basis of moral aspects. Some of the pupils displayed moral standpoints, primarily the degree of morals concerning injustice. One possible interpretation could be that the feeling of being unfairly treated and subjected to insulting behaviour and social injustice was something the pupils could relate to. The group of pupils who had not yet studied history at upper secondary school, the control group, generally made reflections using this sort of reasoning when they discussed the historical aspects of the pictures.

Images are used in history education for a variety of reasons, not least to generate interest through a better understanding of historical events and people. The aim of this study was to investigate how historical pictures, either illustrated or documentary/photographic, can be used as a resource for activating and improving pupils' historical empathy, in the way described by Stéphane Lévasque. I conducted a reception study on five different focus groups consisting of pupils from different upper secondary schools in Sweden. The pupils varied with regard to number of credits for admission to upper secondary school. A sixth group of pupils was interviewed as a contrasting control group in order to add perspective to the results. The discussions were based on the pupils' interpretations of 34 selected pictures, all of which were taken from the most common history textbooks. Each pupil was asked to choose the picture he/she felt was the most representative historical image. On the basis of the strategies used by the pupils when interpreting the pictures and discussing them, the material was analysed in accordance with Lévesque's categories: imagination, historical contextualisation and morals. The last category, morals, was further divided into three sub-categories: sense of justice, sympathy and progression. The reflections of the pupils and the degree of contextualisation varied. It appeared that the pupils were less inclined to discuss assumptions about the persons in the pictures; instead they chose to discuss the historical context in question. The pictures in this study did not seem to trigger the pupils to fabricate anachronistic reasoning about history; when they did produce lengthy reasoning, it was contextual, structural and metahistorical. In this context, the pupils who belonged to the group with the highest average of credits showed some signs of reflection on the basis of historical context and some criticism about the historical sources. On no occasion did any of the pupils choose a picture as a concrete expression of injustice. One of the questions this study aimed to explore was whether a lack of historical context affects how pictures trigger emotions and reasoning on the basis of moral aspects. Some of the pupils displayed moral standpoints, primarily the degree of morals concerning injustice. One possible interpretation could be that the feeling of being unfairly treated and subjected to insulting behaviour and social injustice was something the pupils could relate to. The group of pupils who had not yet studied history at upper secondary school, the control group, generally made reflections using this sort of reasoning when they discussed the historical aspects of the pictures.

This thesis assesses the influence of language models on decryption of historical German ciphers. Previous research on language identification and cleartext detection indicates that it is beneficial to use historical language models (LM) while dealing with historical ciphers as they can outperform models trained on present-day data. To date, no systematic investigation has considered the impact of choosing different LMs for the decryption of ciphers. Therefore, we conducted a series of experiments with the aim of exploring this assumption. Using historical data from the HistCorp collection and Project Gutenberg, we have created 3-gram, 4-gram and 5-gram models, as well as constructed substitution ciphers for testing of the models. The results show that in most cases language models trained on historical data perform better than the larger modern models, while the most consistent results for the tested ciphers gave the 4-gram models.

O objetivo do estudo foi compreender como estudantes do ensino fundamental mobilizam elementos e operações do pensamento histórico suscitados pelo desafio de narrar a história do Brasil. A tarefa enfrentada pelos sujeitos da pesquisa provocou uma série movimentos cognitivos: selecionar eventos, personagens, períodos e conceitos na longa temporalidade, interpretá-los e articula-los num relato explicativo que servisse de orientação para o interlocutor. Para consecução dos objetivos propostos, a investigação partiu da reflexão sobre as relações entre pensamento e linguagem, tomando as formas narrativas como ferramentas culturais fundamentais no processo de desenvolvimento cognitivo e na aprendizagem. Com essa premissa, foram discutidas as especificidades da narrativa na produção do conhecimento histórico, suas relações com a aprendizagem histórica e a formação do pensamento/consciência histórica, tendo como referencial teórico principal as proposições de Jörn Rüsen (2001, 2009) sobre a constituição narrativa do conhecimento e pensamento histórico e das estruturas da consciência histórica. No percurso metodológico de caráter qualitativo buscou-se articular os aportes de Rüsen com referenciais oriundos de pesquisas empíricas, notadamente as realizadas pela Educação Histórica no Brasil e em Portugal, de modo que subsidiassem a análise dos materiais escritos recolhidos em oito turmas da oitava série/nono ano de uma escola da rede municipal de São Paulo em 2010 e 2011. Foi realizada a descrição e análise dos marcadores históricos (acontecimentos, agentes, temporalidades e espaços), caracterizados como conteúdos e conceitos históricos substantivos estruturantes e das formas de sua articulação nas narrativas coletadas. A análise e reflexão desses elementos possibilitaram a identificação de perfis das estruturas narrativas dos estudantes e das perspectivas de atribuição de significância histórica. Desse modo foi possível evidenciar a compreensão e interpretação dos estudantes sobre o passado e a história, auxiliando no entendimento de elementos e processos de formação do pensamento e da consciência histórica no grupo investigado. / The aim of this study was to understand how students from basic education mobilize elements and historical thinking operations raised by the challenge of narrating the History of Brazil. The task faced by the researched actors led to a series of cognitive movements: events selection, characters, periods and concepts in long temporality, interpret them and articulate them in a explanatory account that would provide guidance to the interlocutor. For the attainment of the proposed aims, the research started from a reflection about the relations between think and language, taking the narrative shapes as fundamental cultural tools in the cognitive development process and learning. By this premise, was discussed the specificities of narrative in historical knowledge production, their relations with historical learning and the historical thinking /consciousness, taking as main theoretical the propositions of Jörn Rüsen (2001, 2009) about the creation of knowledge and historical thinking, and structures of historical consciousness. In a qualitative methodological approach sought to articulate the contributions of Rüsen with references from empirical research, especially those carried out by history education in Brazil and Portugal, so that subsidize the analysis of written materials collected in eight classes of eighth grade / ninth year of a municipal school of Sao Paulo in 2010 and 2011. Was performed an analysis and description of historical markers (events, agents, temporalities and spaces), characterized as substantive historical content and structuring concepts and forms of its articulation in the narratives collected. The analysis and discussion of these elements allowed the identification of profiles of the narrative structures of students and assignment prospects of historical significance. Therefore it was possible to demonstrate the students understanding and interpretation of the past and history, assisting in the understanding of elements and formation processes of historical thinking and consciousness in the investigated group.

O objetivo do estudo foi compreender como estudantes do ensino fundamental mobilizam elementos e operações do pensamento histórico suscitados pelo desafio de narrar a história do Brasil. A tarefa enfrentada pelos sujeitos da pesquisa provocou uma série movimentos cognitivos: selecionar eventos, personagens, períodos e conceitos na longa temporalidade, interpretá-los e articula-los num relato explicativo que servisse de orientação para o interlocutor. Para consecução dos objetivos propostos, a investigação partiu da reflexão sobre as relações entre pensamento e linguagem, tomando as formas narrativas como ferramentas culturais fundamentais no processo de desenvolvimento cognitivo e na aprendizagem. Com essa premissa, foram discutidas as especificidades da narrativa na produção do conhecimento histórico, suas relações com a aprendizagem histórica e a formação do pensamento/consciência histórica, tendo como referencial teórico principal as proposições de Jörn Rüsen (2001, 2009) sobre a constituição narrativa do conhecimento e pensamento histórico e das estruturas da consciência histórica. No percurso metodológico de caráter qualitativo buscou-se articular os aportes de Rüsen com referenciais oriundos de pesquisas empíricas, notadamente as realizadas pela Educação Histórica no Brasil e em Portugal, de modo que subsidiassem a análise dos materiais escritos recolhidos em oito turmas da oitava série/nono ano de uma escola da rede municipal de São Paulo em 2010 e 2011. Foi realizada a descrição e análise dos marcadores históricos (acontecimentos, agentes, temporalidades e espaços), caracterizados como conteúdos e conceitos históricos substantivos estruturantes e das formas de sua articulação nas narrativas coletadas. A análise e reflexão desses elementos possibilitaram a identificação de perfis das estruturas narrativas dos estudantes e das perspectivas de atribuição de significância histórica. Desse modo foi possível evidenciar a compreensão e interpretação dos estudantes sobre o passado e a história, auxiliando no entendimento de elementos e processos de formação do pensamento e da consciência histórica no grupo investigado. / The aim of this study was to understand how students from basic education mobilize elements and historical thinking operations raised by the challenge of narrating the History of Brazil. The task faced by the researched actors led to a series of cognitive movements: events selection, characters, periods and concepts in long temporality, interpret them and articulate them in a explanatory account that would provide guidance to the interlocutor. For the attainment of the proposed aims, the research started from a reflection about the relations between think and language, taking the narrative shapes as fundamental cultural tools in the cognitive development process and learning. By this premise, was discussed the specificities of narrative in historical knowledge production, their relations with historical learning and the historical thinking /consciousness, taking as main theoretical the propositions of Jörn Rüsen (2001, 2009) about the creation of knowledge and historical thinking, and structures of historical consciousness. In a qualitative methodological approach sought to articulate the contributions of Rüsen with references from empirical research, especially those carried out by history education in Brazil and Portugal, so that subsidize the analysis of written materials collected in eight classes of eighth grade / ninth year of a municipal school of Sao Paulo in 2010 and 2011. Was performed an analysis and description of historical markers (events, agents, temporalities and spaces), characterized as substantive historical content and structuring concepts and forms of its articulation in the narratives collected. The analysis and discussion of these elements allowed the identification of profiles of the narrative structures of students and assignment prospects of historical significance. Therefore it was possible to demonstrate the students understanding and interpretation of the past and history, assisting in the understanding of elements and formation processes of historical thinking and consciousness in the investigated group.

This compilation thesis contains an introductory chapter and four original articles. The studies comprising this thesis all concern aspects of how historical culture is constituted in historical media and history teachers’ narratives and teaching. It is argued that the teaching of history is a complex matter due to an internal tension resulting from the fact that history is both a product and a process at the same time. While historical facts, and knowledge thereof, are an important aspect of history, history is also a product of careful interpretation and reconstruction. This study analyses and discusses how history is constituted in history textbooks and popular history magazines, i.e. two common historical media, and in teachers’ narratives and teaching of history. The study finds that the historical media studied generally tend to present history as void of perspective, interpretation and representation, suggesting this to be the culturally warranted form of historical exposition. Moreover, the teachers studied also tend to approach history as if it were not contingent on interpretation and reconstruction. These results indicate that the history disseminated in historical media and history classrooms presents history in a factual way and disregards the procedural aspects of history. Applying the history didactical concepts of historical consciousness, historical culture and uses of history, this thesis argues that an essential aspect of historical understanding is an appreciation of the contextual contingency that characterises history. All history is conceived within a particular context that is pertinent to why and how a certain version of history is constructed. Furthermore, all history is also received within a particular context by people with particular preconceptions of history that are contextually contingent, in the sense that they are situated in a certain historical culture. Readers of historical media are members of societies and are thus affected by how history is perceived and discussed in these contexts. This thesis argues that an awareness of these aspects of history is an important factor for furthering a complex understanding of history that encompasses the tension highlighted above.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Notre Dame, 2007. / Thesis directed by Kate Baldwin and Glenn Hendler for the Department of English. "July 2007." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 200-215).

In 2012, Uganda celebrated 50 years of independence. The postcolonial era in the country has been marked by political turmoil and civil wars. Uganda, like many other postcolonial states in Africa, cannot be described as an ethnically or culturally homogenous state. However, history education has globally been seen as a platform for constructing national identities in contemporary societies. At the same time, it is assumed that specific historical experiences of countries influence historical understanding. This study takes its starting point in the theories of historical consciousness and narrativity. A narrative could be viewed as a site where mobilization of ideas of the past to envisage the present and possible futures is made and hence the narrative expresses historical orientation. Through the concept of historical orientation historical consciousness can be explored, i.e. what history is viewed as significant and meaningful. The aim in the study is to explore in what ways students connect to their historical pasts.   The study explores 219 narratives of 73 Ugandan upper secondary students. Narratives elicited through written responses to three assignments. Designed to capture different approaches to history: either to start from the beginning and narrate history prospectively or to depart from the present narrating retrospectively. The colonial experience of Uganda affected the sampling in the way that students were chosen from two different regions, Central and Northern Uganda. The comparison was a way to handle the concept of ‘nation’ as a presupposed category. Narrative analysis has been used as a method to explore what the students regarded as historically significant and what patterns among the narratives that point towards particular historical orientations.   The empirical results show how different approaches to history, a prospective or a retrospective approach, influence the student narratives. For instance, valued judgments on past developments were more common with the retrospective approach. The results also show differences in evaluating past developments according to regional origin. Students from northern Uganda were generally more inclined to tell a story of decline. Also, it is argued that the student narratives were informed by a meta-narrative of Africa. It was as common to identify oneself as African as it was to identify as Ugandan.

The purpose of this basic independent project is to create a research summary of previous research made within the field of how historical perspectives included in regular history teaching affect the development of historical consciousness and historical thinking. The questions aimed to be answered in this text are: how can one work with different perspectives and historical thinking in history education?; how can different historical perspectives affect the learners’ historical consciousness and historical thinking?; and, what possibilities and/or dilemmas can occur when working with different perspectives in developing historical consciousness and historical thinking? To answer these questions extensive research has been made to find previous studies that deal with these issues, mainly through digital databases such as SwePub and ERIC, and also through the physical university library. The research resulted in ten research articles and dissertations, that deal with developing historical consciousness and historical thinking. The studies conducted in these texts conclude that working with various perspectives within the teaching of history is complex, and must be well thought out and be given time to be successful. However, if performed correctly, working with various historical perspectives can be influential in the development of historical consciousness and historical thinking.