History Didactics

The Department of History Didactics explores the various forms of representing the human past in society. It assumes that it is only through people's selective and interpretative review of past events that the construct we call ‘history’ emerges.The field of history didactics encompasses both school-based and extracurricular forms of constructing, teaching and socially utilising history, regardless of whether these forms (aim to) meet scientific standards or not. In addition to history lessons, the focus is on historical museums and exhibitions, politically charged debates and controversies such as those surrounding education on the holocaust, but also ways of presenting historical topics outside of school, for example in the form of podcasts and documentaries. In this regard, the field of research offers points of contact with the more recent field of public history. 

Since teaching history is part of the teacher training in Bonn, the understanding and conceptual development of history-related learning processes of children and young people plays a particularly prominent role in research and teaching.