In collaboration with the NS-Dokumentationszentrum ethnographic field observations werde conducted in the context of guided group tours. The goal of the project was to develop and adapt existing educational programmes in the field of memorial site education in order to make them more inclusive.

The project considered students with and without special needs as well as pedagogical staff and the employees of the NS-Dokumentationszentrum. The results should contribute to new didactic concepts and materials that enable the participation and foster a sensitive historical consciousness among all guided tour participants.

The project is being supported by the state center for political education.

The Erasmus+ project LETHE is a collaborational project of the department of History Didactics and nine other institutions from nine different European countries. It aims to develop strategies and meterials that enhance the representation of invisible communities in history education.

In Greek mythology Lethe is the name of one of the rivers of Hades. It was known as the river of forgetfulness. According to the myth those who drank from it would forget everything they knew. This metaphor reflects the view some people have on history. When talking about history it can seem as if humanity has drunk from the river Lethe and forgotten about its own rich and diverse past: What is known about the history of women, children, homosexuals, migrants and  marginalized groups in general? In fact very little. What can be done to address their history in European classrooms?

The LETHE project seeks to answer these questions. Because of the recent rise of far right movements and their hate crimes agains minorities it holds a great contemporary relevance.

By researching forgotten collectives the role of traditionally invisible communities is moved into the focus and their influence on the multicultural european identity of the present is highlighted. The final output of the project is directed towards history teachers at middleschools and highschools and intends to support them at implementing multiperspektive and multicultural approaches in history teaching.

LAUT - multi-voices (his-)stories in easy language

The history podcast LAUT was created as part of an Erasmus cooperation with the education centre of the “Orient Express” association in Vienna. It contains diverse perspectives and experiences of women with migrant backgrounds. The goal is to conntect academic research and adult education to create historical narratives that are close to everyday life and easily accessible. Following an inclusive approach the project it is directed toward all citizens and generations. Specific target groups (and co-creators) are participants of basic educations courses and people with migrant backgrounds who study German as their second language.

The podcast is based on group interviews with migrant women, that are participating in basic education courses offered by the Orient Express association. Their contributions were used to identify key themes that either influence their biographical backstories or their everyday lifes. In addition the University of Cologne organized a seminar about the production of historical podcasts and a workshop about Easy Language which was attended by university students and the researchers. About a year after the start of the project the first episode of the podcast was released on the 21st of March which was also the starting day of the Nowruz celebrations. To mark the occasion of the podcast launch the team of Orient Express organized a small multimedia exhibition which also showcased some earlier projects of the association. The podcast is now fully available on Spotify.

[Funded by the European Union. The views and opinions voiced are those of the author(s) and do not neccessarily reflect those of the European Union or the OeAD-GmbH. Neither the European Union nor the OeAD-GmbH can be held resposible.]

The cooperation project „People with disabilities in the DDR“ between Kiel and Munich is supported by the federal ministry of education and research (BMBF). It started in the autumn of 2018 and conducts basic research regarding the history of people with disabilities in the DDR.

In collaboration with Prof. Dr. Inger Petersen als fellows of the Stifterverband 2019.

The course concept aims to foster the competences of prospective history teachers in the field of speech diagnosis by using research-based learning strategies and accentuating practical application modes. Within the project university students develop, test and implement diagnostic tools for history education which are subsequently published on an online platform. The focus on diagnosing verbal practices in the context of history education calls for the interdisciplinary collaboration of History Didactics and Language Didactics

Further information can be found here.

In collaboration with Prof. Dr. Roman Bartosch (English Didactics) and Prof. Dr. Wiebke Dannecker (German Didactics). Initial funding by the University of Cologne.

The project investigates the effectiveness of subject specific didactic measures in the context of education for sustainable development concerning the subjects of History, German and English. The central question is whether historical and narrative competences are neccessary for students to engage with the concept of the Anthropocene. The project includes the development of teaching materials and an explorative study on the argumentative competences of students.

The website of the project can be found here.

The project is based on the observation that the multiple crises of the present are reflected in the different. social and subjective experiences of loss. From the perspective of sociological, social and cultural subject-specific didactics we are particulary interested in how these notions of loss manifest as emotions in educanionally relevant fields. It is assumed that such emotions are expressed through narrations and therefore can be invested using empirical-reconstructive methods.

Firstly the project is aimed to make a contribution to theory-building on emotions concerning Educational Sciences and subject-specific Didadctics. Secondly it develops an interdisciplinary methodology for empirical research about emotions in educationally relevant fields. Thirdly there are several subprojects that empirically examine the impact of emotions at the levels of objects, subjects and processes.

Further information can be found here.