Date of Award
2010
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
School of Education
Abstract
The German philanthropist Kurt Körber and the American historian David Van Tassel envisioned a future where students engaged in discovering the sources and interpreting the past for themselves rather than reciting facts filtered by a textbook or teacher. Their ideas developed into two strikingly similar programs: the Geschichtswettbewerb des Bundespräsidenten and National History Day. These endeavors became models for similar efforts in many other countries. This comparative history argues that such programs offer provocative insights into the civic nature and purpose of history education. Inquiry learning and enhanced access to sources gave students opportunities to ask their own questions of the past. Social history made it possible to investigate local history, tell the stories of marginalized groups, and use new sources. In classrooms guided by these philosophies, inquiry is the centerpiece of history instruction. These programs illuminate the connections between student-centered inquiry-based history education and national memory, democratization, and citizenship.
Recommended Citation
Johnson, Crystal, "Building Citizens or Building Nations? Alternative Visions for Learning History in Germany and the United States: The Geschichtswettbewerb Des Bundespraesidenten and National History Day, 1974-1984" (2010). Master's Theses. 520.
https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_theses/520
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Copyright Statement
Copyright © 2010 Crystal Johnson
