The outcome of the 5-year project launched by the Council of Europe is a ground-breaking interactive e-book on shared European histories.
This interactive e-book on "Shared histories for a Europe without dividing lines" represents a comprehensive pan-European tool that covers four main themes:
- The Impact of the Industrial Revolution;
- The Development of Education;
- Human Rights as reflected in the History of Art;
- Europe and the World.
The Council of Europe fosters cultural diversity and pays particular attention to post-conflict areas, working on the need to overcome stereotypes and to build a shared narrative, which includes different perspectives.
Shared Histories is a comprehensive European history teaching tool for teachers, teacher trainers and curricula designers, pupils and their families. The 900-page e-book includes high-speed navigational tools which can be viewed on any device; tablet, phone or computer. It has been produced by an expert team of historians, curriculum designers, authors of teaching materials, history teacher trainers, teachers, museum specialists and representatives of non-governmental organizations from the majority of Council of Europe member states. There are teaching units for pupils aged 8-12, 11-14 and 15-18 and trainee teachers.
For each theme, the e-book provides teaching materials, strategies and techniques, academic papers, case studies, background information, source material and links to external sources. Each theme looks at exchanges between countries, parallel developments and conflicts/tensions and is explored through topics such as:
- The study of passports and visas
- How belief systems work
- The legacy of the 1960s today
- How people kept track of time before clocks and watches
- Why totalitarian regimes have tried to control the visual arts
It is available free – on http://shared-histories.coe.int – in English, with certain elements in French.