Working Papers

REMEMBERING, FORGETTING, TALKING, SILENCING. SOCIAL MANAGEMENT OF CONFLICTIVE PASTS

“Remembering, forgetting, speaking, silencing. The social management of conflictive pasts” is the third working document published by CAPAZ in 2019. Its author is Tatjana Louis, researcher and associate professor at the School of Social Sciences at Universidad de los Andes. Her research emphasis focuses on the development of historical awareness, and the teaching and learning of history.

Abstract:

In societies in transition, historical memory is an instrument for the symbolic reparation of victims, the clarification of truth, and the goal of social reconciliation. However, the work of memory in a society goes beyond the time limits of transitional justice and presents a challenge for different generations. Based on the analysis of manuals for teaching history in various historical periods, this text addresses the long-term social management of painful pasts in two different contexts: in Colombia, the period of La Violencia; and in Germany, the Nazi dictatorship and the legacy of the German Democratic Republic. The manuals show what society considers necessary to teach future generations. At the same time, they serve as a mirror of today’s society. An analysis of training processes in schools can therefore shed light on the social development of a historical memory.

Download the CAPAZ working paper 3-2019, written by Tatjana Louis (In Spanish, German-Colombian Peace Institute – CAPAZ, Bogotá: 2019, 41 p.).

(Text: Claudia Maya. English version: Tiziana Laudato)

CIVIC EDUCATION IN GERMANY: DEVELOPMENT AND ASPECTS OF THE CURRENT DISCUSSION

The working document entitled “Civic education in Germany: Development and aspects of the current discussion” is CAPAZ’ most recent publication (Working Document 2-2019). Its author is Prof. Dr. Bernd Overwien, professor of civic education didactics at the University of Kassel, Germany. In the introduction, Prof. Dr. Overwien brings us closer to the definition of the concept in the German-speaking context:

“‘Politische Bildung’ is the term used in German-speaking countries to refer to school and extra-curricular learning activities that prepare or accompany students in the management of politics by acquiring appropriate knowledge and skills. In this respect, political education moves in a relationship of tensions between pedagogy and politics. (Fischer 1972; Mambour 2007, p. 9). Political education is by no means limited to certain age groups: natural and social science classes in primary school prepare students at an early age (6-10 years) to deal with political and social science issues. Civic education as a whole has, in recent decades, resorted to social science knowledge and methods. However, civic education is older and the corresponding lines of progress are drawn and developed in this working paper. The central debates will be outlined on this basis, and finally discussed with a view to current discussions in Colombia”.

Download the CAPAZ working paper on civic education in Germany, written by Prof. Dr. Bernd Overwien (in Spanish, German-Colombian Peace Institute – CAPAZ, Bogotá: 2019. 30 p.).

(Text: Claudia Maya. English version: Tiziana Laudato)