Didactics of history

We focus on two questions: On the one hand, we look at how people in the past perceived and interpreted their world and how they acted and lived on this basis. In doing so, we combine approaches from cultural, knowledge and social history and cover a wide variety of eras.

We then ask how this past was and is interpreted and communicated in retrospect and how this is reflected in the culture of history, particularly in historiography, school textbooks and extracurricular places of learning.

In this way, we want to make a contribution to how a meaningful and future-oriented examination of the past can take place in schools and society.

History didactics also works together with non-university institutions involved in the teaching of history and historical culture. Seminars for students or training courses for trainee teachers, teachers and students offer the opportunity to discuss didactic implementation options using the example of subject-specific topics. The training courses are also a forum where history teachers at all stages of training and qualification levels can discuss current issues in historical research and history didactics. The contributions to the conferences and the results of the discussions have been published regularly since 2009 in the series "Historica et Didactica. Continuing education in history."

It is also important to us to take the culture of history seriously as part of history didactics. To this end, we regularly organize excursions and cooperation projects with local and regional actors.