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X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://www.historikertag.de/Bonn2025/en/programm/dynamics-of-power-and-critical-inquiry-in-the-history-classroom/
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
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UID:historikertag-2025-4378
DTSTAMP:20250324T083511Z
DTSTART:20250918T120000Z
DTEND:20250918T134000Z
SUMMARY:[Historikertag 2025] Dynamics of Power and Critical Inquiry in the History Classroom
DESCRIPTION:History education is often conceptualized as a means of strengthening democratic consensus by the transmission of values and of sense-making narratives. History teaching may not be independent of state power, but unlike in authoritarian regimes, democracy cannot impose the lessons it wants to be learned from history by force. A democratic society must strive to prepare students for civic participation by cultivating their critical thinking skills. This may work quite well in countries where stability and widespread consensus on basic values facilitate a broad majority of students adopting pro-democracy views on the present meaning and ethical relevance of the past. However, the normative challenge of democratic history education becomes more difficult in contexts of polarized societies, where perceptions of past and present are not a source of unity and harmony, but rather of tension, conflict and sometimes even violence. 
In our panel discussion (90 minutes) we will examine from the comparative perspective of three divided Western societies (USA, France and Germany), whether a critical inquiry rooted in the epistemic tradition of historical research can provide students with an “antidote” to polarization and its often distorting and ideologizing effects on the perception of reality. How can history education empower students to resist misinformation, one-sided thinking, and doubtful framing effects with tools of critical source reading and online reasoning? Can they be prepared to become participants of democratic discussions when they learn that history as a science seeks to reconstruct the past not by claiming absolute “possession of truth”, but through study based on evidence, acknowledging uncertainty and always open to revision? How can such an approach strengthen a vision of democratic power based on respect among individuals and groups and a common struggle for good solutions? 
Der Beitrag Dynamics of Power and Critical Inquiry in the History Classroom erschien zuerst auf Historikertag 2025.
LOCATION:Hörsaal 8
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