NEWS A new anthology presents different ways to approach "conflicting stories" in the classroom. The conclusion that can be drawn is that the educational approaches to this type of historical problem require a great deal of consideration for different national and culturally defined educational contexts. The book is edited by Henrik Åström Elmersjö, Umeå University, Anna Clark, University of Technology, Sydney and Monika Vinterek, University of Dalarna.
Contested stories have long been an important issue in history teaching throughout the world and have in some cases even been described as parts of "history" or "cultural war". In this anthology, writers from around the world discuss the question "what can teachers do - and what do they do - to deal with conflicting stories about the same historical events?"
In anthology, an epistemological (theory of knowledge) question is put at the heart of the discussion: What does epistemology of history mean if it is possible to learn more than one story?
The anthology raises issues that are very relevant in multicultural societies, where sensible ways of handling different interpretations of historical events are crucial for people to understand each other across different cultural boundaries.
The book is important reading not only for students and researchers in education and history, but also for practicing teachers.
Henrik Åström Elmersjö, henrik.astrom.elmersjo@umu.se, tel. +46 90 786 68 16
Editor: Per Melander