Teaching History in the New Europe (Cassell Council of Europe Series)

History can be a controversial and sensitive subject. There is consensus about its importance, but not about what it is for. Is it simply a search for past societies, to exhibit the objective truth? Or is it a value-laden activity, whose priorities and content are inescapably affected by current social and political issues? Is it concerned with transmitting or examining values? This book examines these questions and puts forward several answers. Drawing on Council of Europe material, the author seeks to define Europe. The book was prompted by a symposium on "The Teaching of History in the New Europe".