The topic of this study is multiperspectivity, a concept in history didactics denoting a way and predisposition to view history through many different perspectives, with regards to, among other things, historical people, events, and historiography. Using multiperspectivity in history education not only reveals the varied ways in which history is constructed, but also exposes the history of peoples previously marginalized in historical narratives, such as women, children, the poor, and various ethnic groups. Using a content analysis and coding scheme, the study examines the representtation of the era of the Swedish empire in five history textbooks for upper secondary school in Sweden. Textbooks are an important part of teaching, and as research material they can provide insight into how a given subject may be represented, which in turn makes it possible to analyse the implications of that representation. The study finds that the textbooks varied considerably regarding their multiperspectivity. Some included the perspectives of peasants, women, immigration, and the effects of religion on society, while others did not, and were instead noticeably more limited in their perspectivity. All textbooks did however focus heavily on military and political matters. The various wars Sweden was engaged in, as well as the kings – particularly Gustavus Adolphus and Charles XII – receive most attention throughout the texts, while other perspectives are, more or less depending on the textbook, given far less attention. Furthermore, the texts themselves are most often framed as a narrative of the rise and fall of an empire. These findings are in many ways congruent with previous research on history textbooks, and together with previous research on multiperspectivity, the study shows the complexity of applying this concept to history education.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UPSALLA1/oai:DiVA.org:kau-96073 |
| Date | January 2023 |
| Creators | Sandberg, Linus |
| Publisher | Karlstads universitet, Fakulteten för humaniora och samhällsvetenskap (from 2013) |
| Source Sets | DiVA Archive at Upsalla University |
| Language | Swedish |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Student thesis, info:eu-repo/semantics/bachelorThesis, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess |
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