Re-thinking History teaching – Argentina.
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Transcript Re-thinking History teaching – Argentina.
SASHT Conference 2014
Rethinking Recent History Teaching:
Some approaches and contributions from the
Argentinian case
Laura Efron
Asian and African Studies, History Department, University of Buenos
Aires, Argentina.
Aims:
To present the historical and educational features of the recent past and its
high school teaching in the Argentinian case
To share some class experiences and think about the achievements and
difficulties teachers have when working on recent past with their students
To promote discussions abput the link between past and present and the
place that history has or should have in the promotion of critical thinking
Why did I choose to share these
experiences?
1941, Educational Journal, TLSA. Alie Fataar and Benjamin Kies critical ideas
about history teaching in the Western Cape.
"The History we Teach" and "The Nazi education system"
Thinking links between the South
Why comparing South Africa and
Argentina?
Geopolitical position in both continents
European Colonial rule experiences
Apartheid - Argentinian cycles of democratic and dictatorship regimes
Coup d´etat 1976-1983
Key points in Argentinian recent history
1976 Militar Coup d´etat. State Terrorism:
1.
political parties and unions banned
2.
30.000 "desaparecidos"
3.
300 concentration camps (not officially recognised)
4.
8.600 political prisioners
5.
more than 20.000 exiles
6.
400 abducted babies.
1982: The Junta Militar was forced to open political negotiations after the
Malvinas War defeat.
Returning to democracy:
Alfonsín's Period 1984-1989
Foundation of the National Comission of Dissappeared People (CONADEP)
1985: Conviction of the top members of the military goverment
1987: Parliament passed two impunities laws (Obediencia debida y Punto
Final)
First official memory: "The Two Evils Theory"
Since 2001 until today
2003. Kircher new goverment changed Human Rights National Policy. New
National narrative: "State Terrorism" instead of the "Two evils Theory"
2005. Supreme Court of Justice confirmed that the Impunity Laws were
against the principles of the new constitution: re-opening of cases
considered crimes against humanity
March 24th was declared National Day for Memory, Truth and Justice
Creation of Memory sites
Educational Policies
2006. New National Education Act 26206:
Makes a special remark in the teaching of recent Argentinian History and in the construction
of memories in school spaces.
New National Curriculum includes both aims.
Conceptual background
The past is not static, it is reinvented and revisited from the present time
(Bloch)
Past-Present as a concept with multiple implications for individuals and
society in the thinking of the future (Kosselleck)
Transitional times: special moment in which it is possible to dispute and reshape national identities
The relationship between
memory and history
Tension between official memory and subaltern memories
Tension between History as a cientific discipline and histories as the popular
experiences and memories
Can collective memory be plural and heterogeneous?
How can teachers deal with the conflicts that teaching recent history
brings into class? How can we deal with the students backgrounds and
family memories?
El programa "Jóvenes y Memoria, recordamos para el futuro"
The "Youth and Memory, remembering for the future"
programme
Created in 2002 by the Memory Provincial Commission of
Buenos Aires.
General aim: teach Argentinian recent history and promote the
consolidation of public memories
Specific Aim: promote critical thinking among students about their past and
present
El programa "Jóvenes y Memoria, recordamos para el futuro"
The "Youth and Memory, remembering for the future"
programme
The Programme:
- One group between six and twenty students with a teacher. Week meetings
- Bibliographical Research
- Problem definiton. Local approach. Past-Present problematics.
- Research
- Exposing the results: film, play, music performance, mural, paintings, etc.
- Special classes for teachers and students
El programa "Jóvenes y Memoria, recordamos para el futuro"
The "Youth and Memory, remembering for the future"
programme
Sharing the results:
1. Local exposition: Inviting the neighbours to school
2. Schools expositions: Students and teachers involved in the programme go for a weekend to
a special camp where all the participants share their experiences and results
Class Research as a tool to deal with
recent past and memories in dispute
Research opens questions instead of giving closed answers
It allows students to get involved with the past and change their presents
Invites students to understand how history as a cientific discipline works
Promotes the inclusion of memories in the re-construction of the historical past
Creates a wider and more complex view of the past, including different social
actors and interests.
Promotes the creation of multi-causal explanations
Gives the students a special sense of responsability as future citizens