On 16th March, the book “Past in the Present” (Fortiden i Nåtiden”) was launched at the House of Literature in Oslo, Norway. EWC research coordinator Claudia Lenz is one of the editors.

The book is based on the idea, that more than 65 years after the end of World War two, the narratives and interpretations about the war have become an important source of understanding. The book advocates a history teaching that encourages learners to link the past to their own questions about identity and that gives them at hand the tools enabling them to critically reflect on their own understandings of the past as well as historical narratives of others. Given the multicultural reality of contemporary societies, this is regarded as a precondition for an inclusive history culture – feeding into an inclusive and participatory political culture.


In his speech at the launch, Chair of the EWC Borad Prof. Svein Lorentzen said; "an inclusion of this book in the training of future history teachers in Norway is desirable".




More information about the book
(Norwegian text)