Reference to the present
The contemporary relevance writes in the history teaching according to Thomas Martin Buck:
"Practical / methodological and epistemological (as we can know something about the past in the past) components related to the period, ie the current present."
General information on the relevance of the present in history didactics
In history lessons, the reference to the present is a principle for selecting and generating topics in modern lessons, with regard to usability, meaningfulness and applicability, personal meaning, concern and sustainable learning. The pupils shouldn't have to ask themselves, “What does this have to do with me?”. This connection between the present and the past must be made clear to the students.
Furthermore, the history of science actually refers to the science of the present, since here the questions from the present are put to the past in order to anticipate and shape the future. History therefore serves to reflect on the past in the present.
Questions to history
According to Klaus Bergmann, questions and inquiries about history are:
“[...] questions that are always present per se and that arise from the life context of the questioner. And in the area of history didactics, they arise from a conscious perception of essential contemporary problems that occupy, press and need to solve society. "
These questions can be viewed from three points of view. According to Michael Sauer, these are the direct reference to the past , the causal connection and the meaningful connection .
The direct reference to the past includes old buildings, monuments, street names, dialects and proverbs, but also press, radio and television releases. The reference to the present is shown here in the form of traces from the past in the present day.
The reference to the present as a causal context is understood to be a cause research. For this you need informational knowledge to ask questions about the past.
The context of meaning poses questions about situations, events or processes that can be compared with the situation or the object of investigation. The pupils need orientation knowledge for this procedure .
References to the past in the present of the students
According to Klaus Bergmann, there are five references to the past for students in the present. These are:
- Facts and terms of everyday life (origin of a term)
- Material remnants from the past (monuments, buildings, cemeteries)
- Past achievements (human rights, equality between men and women)
- Mortgages from the past (mental and historically inherited holdovers)
- History culture (controversies in historical research, memorial days)
It is understood to include material and mental phenomena of the present that are recognizable as part of the past or that conceal a part of it, or that give rise to a discussion of the past.
Opportunities and Criticism
The choice between what is possible and what is worth learning is viewed as an opportunity. Furthermore, the examination of the past from the perception of current processes. The help given with orientation in the present is also an opportunity to relate to the present in history lessons. In addition, key problems with historical memory can be viewed in a more diverse way.
The limits become apparent when suggesting the chronology and the addition of the past. It is also difficult to establish a reference to the present with all topics, since the past does not come up to the present and therefore direct comparisons are not always possible. Furthermore, there are breaks in continuity, alterities and alternatives in addition to the connections that must not be disregarded. Finally, it should be mentioned that modern categories do not always fit the description.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ Thomas Martin Buck: Relation to the world and the present . In: Michele Barricelli, Martin Lücke (Hrsg.): Practice of history teaching . tape 1 . Schwalbach 2012, p. 289 .
- ↑ a b Klaus Bergmann: Reference to the present - reference to the future . In: History in Science and Education . No. 55 , 2004, pp. 37-46 .
- ↑ Michael Sauer: Teaching History. An introduction to didactics and methodology . Seelze 2012, ISBN 978-3-7800-4925-4 , pp. 91 .