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Lessons of History: An Impossible Equation? : Towards New Perspectives on Historical Learning

Karlsson, Klas-Göran LU (2021) In The Historical Review / La Revue Historique 17(2020). p.351-382
Abstract
Lessons of history are two-sided cultural products. They serve as active instruments of temporal orientation in a society in which historical trajectories seem obsolete and the future open, but they are also passively framed within historical cultures that often have prefigured them. Thus, lessons are seldom arbitrarily constructed. while lessons of history for many centuries were highly esteemed as guides to the future from the viewpoint of a practical past, and still are among economists, politicians and social scientists, few professional historians have trust in lessons. The distrust is explained from the lessons’ lack of congruence with traditional professional standards, but also from a... (More)
Lessons of history are two-sided cultural products. They serve as active instruments of temporal orientation in a society in which historical trajectories seem obsolete and the future open, but they are also passively framed within historical cultures that often have prefigured them. Thus, lessons are seldom arbitrarily constructed. while lessons of history for many centuries were highly esteemed as guides to the future from the viewpoint of a practical past, and still are among economists, politicians and social scientists, few professional historians have trust in lessons. The distrust is explained from the lessons’ lack of congruence with traditional professional standards, but also from a frequent use of historical lessons for ideological and political purposes. The purpose of this essay is partly to discuss the theoretical assumptions behind lessons of history, partly to argue in favour of a more constructive use of lessons that can meet reasonable scholarly requirements. (Less)
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author
organization
alternative title
Historiska lärdomar: en omöjlig ekvation?
publishing date
type
Contribution to specialist publication or newspaper
publication status
published
subject
in
The Historical Review / La Revue Historique
volume
17
issue
2020
pages
31 pages
publisher
Section of Neohellenic Research of the Institute of Historical Research of the National Hellenic Research Foundation
external identifiers
  • scopus:85123538064
ISSN
1790-3572
DOI
10.12681/hr.27075
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
23ccd326-9210-4b89-9e5f-bd0194187cae
date added to LUP
2022-02-18 16:01:23
date last changed
2024-04-07 16:57:08
@misc{23ccd326-9210-4b89-9e5f-bd0194187cae,
  abstract     = {{Lessons  of  history  are  two-sided  cultural  products.  They  serve  as  active instruments  of  temporal  orientation  in  a  society  in  which  historical  trajectories  seem obsolete and the future open, but they are also passively framed within historical cultures that often have prefigured them. Thus, lessons are seldom arbitrarily constructed. while lessons of history for many centuries were highly esteemed as guides to the future from the  viewpoint  of  a  practical  past,  and  still  are  among  economists,  politicians  and  social scientists, few professional historians have trust in lessons. The distrust is explained from the  lessons’  lack  of  congruence  with  traditional  professional  standards,  but  also  from  a frequent  use  of  historical  lessons  for  ideological  and  political  purposes.  The  purpose  of this essay is partly to discuss the theoretical assumptions behind lessons of history, partly to argue in favour of a more constructive use of lessons that can meet reasonable scholarly requirements.}},
  author       = {{Karlsson, Klas-Göran}},
  issn         = {{1790-3572}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{05}},
  number       = {{2020}},
  pages        = {{351--382}},
  publisher    = {{Section of Neohellenic Research of the Institute of Historical Research of the National Hellenic Research Foundation}},
  series       = {{The Historical Review / La Revue Historique}},
  title        = {{Lessons of History: An Impossible Equation? : Towards New Perspectives on Historical Learning}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.12681/hr.27075}},
  doi          = {{10.12681/hr.27075}},
  volume       = {{17}},
  year         = {{2021}},
}