Crossroads of European histories : multiple outlooks on five key moments in the history of Europe

Abstract

Publisher's description: How can history teaching contribute to a spirit of tolerance with respect to promoting different points of view, respect for the other and developing the critical and autonomous judgement of future active citizens within democratic societies? This book is a contribution to the implementation of a methodology based on “multiperspectivity”, and allows teachers to present numerous examples of various approaches in their practical teaching as well as different points of view or ideas on the same events in recent European history. Five conferences have been organised since 2002, namely on “1848 in European history”; “The Balkan wars of 1912-13”; “The search for peace in 1919”; “The end of the Second World War and the beginning of the Cold War in 1945”; and “The events and developments of 1989-90 in central and eastern Europe”. Thirty-five of the contributions presented in the framework of these conferences by eminent historians from different Council of Europe member states are published in this book. As they will be complemented by additional sources provided by teachers, they cannot obviously be exhaustive from a point of view of the states concerned or from the different perceptions of history. This publication allows both teachers and pupils to place regional and national history in a wider context, develop their historical knowledge, make connections across space and time, and compare different perspectives on the same events and developments.