History as identity construction and fostering of “memory” preservation

Abstract

Historical consciousness about our past and our ancestors is fundamental in know who we are and we came from, and this is directly associated with our feeling of identity. This idea is expressed strongly by one fourth year student: “If I was here without knowing what happened before, it would be very strange. I wouldn’t know anything, because I didn’t know about the past of my family or about others people. It would be very strange”. (Anabela). This paper presents data from a study carried out with primary school students (six to ten years old) in Portugal. We investigated the relationships between history, the past, and personal, family and collective memory using semi-structured interviews. Several questions were asked, but in this paper only the questions that are directly related to its topic are analysed: “What is history?”, “What is past for you?”, “With who and how do you learn about the past?” The formation of historical consciousness is not a direct consequence of historical knowledge and school is not the only promoter of this consciousness. The importance of the family and the contribution of visits to museums and monuments are also emphasised. The results suggest that conceptions about the past and history are extremely diverse. The notion of history has many meanings and it emerged as a multi-faceted and ambiguous concept. The idea of historical past was viewed as being static, as “something that happened a long time ago” principally by younger children while older children already demonstrated a feeling of historical consciousness. History was not only seen as the past (on a personal, national or world level), but as a way of understanding the present and of preparing for the future. The importance of history for the preservation of memory (personal and national) and as an affirmation of individual and collective identity was also recognised.