There is great interest in testimonies, both in society at large and as a theoretical concept. Within educational research testimony is used to understand and develop epistemological, political or ethical thinking. In this thesis I investigate what testimonies and the act of witnessing can do in relation to education. More specifically, I investigate what kind of pedagogical possibilities there are in witnessing and testimony, in relation to teaching as well as outside schools. Focusing on three different aspects (of these phenomena), namely representation, subjectivity and emotion I discuss different examples of testimonies. These are Collateral Murder, The Living History Forum’s book Tell Ye Your Children…, Gruva by Sara Lidman and Odd Uhrbom, and pictures with Alan Kurdi from 2015 taken by Nilüfer Demir. I examine the pedagogical possibilities of testimony and witnessing based on the idea that such possibilities are situated in human imperfection and lack of ability, where the knowledge is placed in the impossibility, in our not-knowing. This dialectical understanding, drawing on Giorgio Agamben, implies a different formulation than previous research, by highlighting the impossibility of witnessing and of testimony, for example by how the testimony does not stand outside the political, and in Western society more specifically, the capitalist system. Through the analyses of the different aspects (representation, subjectivity, emotions) I show how testimonies can serve as a way to control the students' emotions and perceptions (drawing on Sara Ahmed), and influence the perception of the society in which the students live. I have also shown how the act of witnessing can be done at the witness’ own expense (by drawing on The Latina Feminist Group). It can mean that testimonies work as a way to reproduce various stereotypes of different people's suffering and thus consolidate existing power structures and identities. The conditions surrounding witnessing and testimonies make witnessing an act that can be perceived as a poetic testimony, as well as an exploitation or expropriation of already vulnerable people. With this said, I also argue for the value of bringing into teaching testimonies that testify of suffering. Testimonies stand between the past and the future and have important things to speak of. If testimonies are not heard in teaching, there is a possibility of silencing and forgetting the wounds in history. It is in teaching where the repetitive work of a literary reading (Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak) can take place. A literary reading that emphasizes the difficulties in testimonies and one’s own part of and relation to it. It is the effort of the repetitive work in teaching that can lead to pedagogical possibility, and through that, enter the future.

Abstrakt Målet med denna kunskapsöversikt är att kartlägga tidigare forskning i synen på sovjetkommunism och Sovjetunionens roll under kalla kriget och hur det skildras i historieundervisningen. Översikten kommer även att kartlägga forskning i hur och varför detta ämne skiljer sig i länder som i dagsläget är icke-kommunistiska baserat på skillnader i historiekulturer från 1933 till nutid. Majoriteten av de källor som använts i denna kunskapsöversikt har tagit utgångspunkt i tre perspektiv: historieläroböcker, lärare och historieundervisning, samt historiekulturer. Databaserna som användes för att hitta källor var följande: Swepub, EBSCO, Libguide och DIVA. Databaserna användes i syfte att hitta både engelska och svenska källor eftersom källorna inom detta område var mycket begränsade och källor skrivna på engelska skulle öppna upp för ett mer internationellt perspektiv. Slutsatsen som kan dras av denna kunskapsöversikt är att synen på sovjetkommunism och den roll som Sovjetunionen spelade under kalla kriget skiljer sig mellan länder som i dagsläget inte är under kommunistiskt styre. Både synen på kommunism och Sovjetunionens roll i kalla kriget kommer med en viss tvetydighet vilket skildras i kunskapsöversikten. Vidare påverkas historieläroböckerna av politik och tenderar att vara mindre analytiska än historielärarna. Historielärarnas syn på kommunism och kalla kriget påverkas av historiekultur som kan visa ett lands historiska koppling till kommunism och sovjetkommunism.

Ever since the beginning, museums around the world have tried using different techniques to attract visitors. Some open-air museums have even started to create small worlds of their own, wherein they perform living history. The idea is that visitors will be able to step into history, and see different time periods with their own eyes. A prime example of an open-air museum that uses this kind of concept, is Skansen in Stockholm. There, visitors can walk around on cobblestone streets and go into old houses, where they are greeted by staff in historical clothing. This thesis examines how Skansen uses performance and historical clothing to teach history, in the quest to create an immersive experience for the visitors. The empirical material consists of observations and interviews with staff at Skansen, as well as visitors. Drawing upon Richard Schechners definition of performance theory, different parts of Skansen are dissected to determine how museums can use this kind of method in order to appeal to visitors.    Furthermore, the historical clothing is used as a reference point to gather and analyze the thoughts and experiences of the staff and visitors at Skansen. It became apparent that clothes can help you feel like a part of history, both in the sense that it makes you look different and move your body differently. This highlights how clothing can affect people’s bodies and minds. In that way, we see the relationship between humans and objects, and how they interact in different settings. The interviews also showed that people can have different approaches to the performance aspect. While some appreciate the playful nature of stepping into a role, others can feel uneasy about playing pretend. Nonetheless, many of the staff members stressed that they use the historical clothing to create a new persona, which separates their work life from their free time. This shows that clothing and performance can be used as tools in working environments, in order to protect one’s integrity.