“To understand why we are doing what we do now” – a qualitative study of dance historyteaching within the course Dansteori. This essay illustrates how teachers at upper secondary schools relate to teaching dance history within the course“Dansteori”, focusing on the aim that students should critically review different dance history writings. The study uses interviews and open-ended questionnaires, and the material have been analyzed qualitatively and discussed inrelation to historical thinking and norm-critical pedagogy. The study shows that a historical-scientific perspective is important in how teachers talk about the subject, but less important when it comes to what students should gain fromtheir studies. Instead, a general knowledge of dance history and an ability to connect ones dancing to a historical context, is at the center. The study also shows a conflict between the content and the time given as well as the student’s maturity. In relation to the theoretical perspectives, the historical-scientific perspective is prominent. By contrast, the norm-critical perspective is not as clear, and as I understand it, the critical scrutiny lies primarily within the norm rather than as a means of looking outside the Western box. The next challenge is therefore to not only review the conditions for how history is created, but also to question and change the structures that create knowledge.

This essay illustrates how teachers at upper secondary schools relate to teaching dance history within the course “Dansteori”, focusing on the aim that students should critically review different dance history writings. The study uses interviews and open-ended questionnaires, and the material have been analyzed qualitatively and discussed in relation to historical thinking and norm-critical pedagogy. The study shows that a historical-scientific perspective is important in how teachers talk about the subject, but less important when it comes to what students should gain from their studies. Instead, a general knowledge of dance history and an ability to connect ones dancing to a historical context, is at the center. The study also shows a conflict between the content and the time given as well as the student’s maturity. In relation to the theoretical perspectives, the historical-scientific perspective is prominent. By contrast, the norm-critical perspective is not as clear, and as I understand it, the critical scrutiny lies primarily within the norm rather than as a means of looking outside the Western box. The next challenge is therefore to not only review the conditions for how history is created, but also to question and change the structures that create knowledge.