On Genocide and the Holocaust in Swedish History Teaching
2015 (English)In: Historical Encounters: A journal of historical consciousness, historical cultures and history education, E-ISSN 2203-7543, Vol. 2, no 1, p. 58-69Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Teaching about the Holocaust and other genocides is emphasized in Swedish History teaching. In Sweden there is a public authority commisioned to work with issues related to tolerance, democracy and human rights. It is this context and under these conditions, that Swedish History teachers select a variety of topics for their students to learn, as part of the History curriculum. In addition to the Holocaust, they teach about crimes against humanity committed under communist regimes, the genocide of Tutsies in Rwanda, and mass murder and ethnic cleansing in former Yugoslavia. Teachers use a multiplicity of uses of history and teaching methods. They conduct a scientific use of history when focusing on the historical contexts and explaining the background, motives and consequences of genocide. Teachers also stress the students’ personal reflections and standpoints in a moral use of history. The teaching aims at developing understanding and empathy among students.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2015. Vol. 2, no 1, p. 58-69
Keywords [en]
History teaching, genocide, Holocaust, teachers, uses of history, Sweden
National Category
History Didactics
Research subject
Humanities, History Education
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:lnu:diva-45643ISI: 000373181800005Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85028767996OAI: oai:DiVA.org:lnu-45643DiVA, id: diva2:844853
Note
En svensk version av artikeln är publicerad som: Ammert, Niklas, "En ögonblicksbild av ondskan: Förintelsen och andra folkmord i svensk historieundervisning" i Dietsch, Karlsson, Stenfeldt & Zander, Historia vid skiljevägen: Historiekulturella sonderingar när och fjärran, Höör: Agerings bokförlag 2015.
2015-08-092015-08-092019-08-14Bibliographically approved