Science History

Science History

1

History is the science of the past. Or is it?

Its object is what has already happened. But, far from being out

of sight, out of mind, the past is our constant partner.

Our waking life is populated by ideas of who we are and what

we should do, based in a more or less informed way on our

knowledge of the past.

http://historyjokes.blogspot.com/

European citizens have embarked on an important journey,

building a Union, consolidating it and even admitting numerous

new members. What is our destination? How long will the

journey take? No one knows. For now, there is only one answer:

“Time will tell”.

But how we shape our Union, how we react to challenges and

resist or negotiate change depends on what we are able to predict

and what we know about ourselves, others, and the polity

we are striving to build.

Strangely, considering the urgency of being informed about

issues that concern us all, few students in higher education

are given the opportunity to learn about the European Union

and its development. In most History departments, if EU history

is taught at all, it is from a point of view skewed towards

the national experience. This is natural, but it also tells us that a

fuller circulation of knowledge and ideas is necessary. History

learning and teaching are still conceived largely in a national

framework, and rightly so, since the national context influences

deeply how citizens experience their belonging to the EU.

And Europe’s role in the wider world? Europeans need a deeper

understanding of that world to interact positively with it. The

European Union, a unique polity, must find its unique path in a

globalised world.

The CLIOHWORLD Network designs tools and strategies to

improve history learning and teaching and increase their usefulness

for European citizens. With this booklet the Network

wishes to share its work in progress.

History and Europe