COULD HISTORY TEACHING CONTRIBUTE TO DEVELOP A CULTURE  OF COOPERATION IN LATIN AMERICA  IN THE CONTEXT OF A GLOBALIZED WORLD?

A comparative study of history teaching in Argentina and Brazil.


In the last 15 years I have been working extensively on history education and national identity in Latin America. In 2001 I received the Guggenheim Fellowship (Latin American) for a project on this specific area of study. In this study I examined the relation between the teaching and learning of history and the formation of national identity. My most recent publication is a result of this Project (Documentos de identidad. La construcción de la memoria histórica en un mundo global (2007, Buenos Aires: Paidós). (Identity documents. The construction of historical memory in a globalized world. London: Routledge, sumitted; also portuguese translation, in press, Portoalegre, Artes Medicas). In this book, I analyze and compare the debates on the teaching of history in different countries, paying special attention to Latin America, specially in chapter 4, where I present interviews with students of different ages about historic-patriotic rituals and celebrations. My previous book (Enseñanza de la historia y memoria colectiva, 2006) has also been published on Argentina and Brazil (see vita), where I have been teaching and doing research.
This proposal is based on a continuation and expansion of the work of my book, working specifically on a comparison between the Argentinean and the Brazilian cases. I think both DRCLAS and HGSE offer excellent conditions and prior and specific research specific on this topic.

STANFORD HUMANITIES CENTER EVENTS
Mario Carretero: "Historical Narratives and the Construction of National Identities"

Memory construction and national identity are key issues for societies. How can we believe and give sense to traditional narratives that explain the origins of nations and communities? History taught at school plays a fundamental role in the construction of collective memory, as childhood and adolescence are periods in life in which identity starts to form. This talk will present the ways in which historical knowledge is understood by students from 12 to 18 years of age and by adults. Carretero will draw on research from his recent book, "Constructing Patriotism. Teaching History and Memories in Global Worlds" (2011). Mario Carretero is in residence at the Center as the Bliss Carnochan Distinguished Visitor and a FSI-Humanities Center International Visitor. Carretero is Professor of Psychology at the Universidad Autonoma, Madrid/Flacso Buenos Aires.

Link a Stanford