Konferencia: 1956 az európai tankönyvekben
2006. március 2. 14:00
1956 in History Textbooks: An International Seminar
The Joseph Károlyi Foundation, together with Pasts Inc., Center for Historical Studies at CEU and the History Department seeks to organize an international seminar dedicated to the theme of `teaching in Europe the political events of 1956`. The organization happens in close co-operation with the Hungarian History Teachers' Association and will focus on history didactics and textbooks.
The goals of the initiative are manyfold, however, in general, it seeks to foster:
- the rapprochement and integration of history teaching and scholarly research
- situate the purely professional activity in its public contexts.
Therefore, the aims of the seminar are:
- to provide a survey on the state-of-the-art of history textbook research that concerns the contemporary history of Central and Eastern Europe.
- to provide a detailed analysis on the representation of the historical events of 1956 in Central and Eastern Europe in history textbooks of Hungary, Poland, Romania and other countries of the region where they need to be conducted. - situate these results in the comparative context of similar chapters in Western European (French, German, Austrian, British and Italian) teaching materials.
- identify in priority the currently prevailing lacunae in the scholarship and the needs for raising the level of research in history didactics and textbooks. A vital pre-condition of attaining this goal is to stimulate a dialogue of historians of the event with history teachers or textbook authors.
- These aims aptly correspond to the focus of the seminar that seeks to engage the professional points of view with an investigation of public memory. It is a highly important imperative to shape historical knowledge as a relevant public matter.
Consequently, it is the intention of the organizers to compare the 'scholarly' representation of the events of 1956 with the experiences of witnesses ('grandparents' of the present pupils). It is equally important to learn about the perception of textbook materials in the pupils' minds and to compare it with the manifest aims and actual implications of history teaching. To what extent does it shape historical consciousness? Does it contribute to the ability of making judgements independently? Can it foster the development of a European 'citoyen' spirit? Does it improve critical thinking or comprehensive mind? By this means, the organizers hope to re-generate the interest of Western European history teachers in the history of Central and Eastern Europe.
The date: the seminar is to take place on 6-9 April 2006. The organizers invite specialists in the field of history didactics and textbook research in close co-operation with the Georg Eckert Institut für Schulbuchforschung (Braunschweig), historians from Hungary and abroad as well as history teachers of Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Austria and Italy through the mediation of the respective associations of history teachers. Textbooks editors are also invited.
In order to increase the potential of disseminating the achievements of the initiative an exposition of history textbooks will be arranged in the public school next to the seminar venue. Simultaneously, an exhibition of contemporary Hungarian and other press clippings from the collections of the Ferenc Fejtő Archives will be installed in the place of the meeting.
The place of the events is provided by the Joseph Károlyi Foundation in its Cultural Center for European Encounters, the Károlyi palace of Fehérvárcsurgó, that is situated 80 km west from Budapest. Participants and invites will occupy the rooms of the palace, whereas other interested persons can find a small hotel nearby. The organizers will arrange a bus leaving from and returning to Budapest before and after the seminar. Simultaneous translation will be taken care of.
Information: Angelica Károlyi [email protected]; Peter Apor [email protected]
Organized by the J
oseph Károlyi Foundation,
CEU Department of History and
Pasts Inc., Center for Historical Studies
In cooperation with
The Hungarian Association of History Teachers
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