Christoph Bramann: Representations of a Medieval “Feudal System” in German History Textbooks

How do education policy guidelines manifest themselves in school history textbooks and to what extent is the influence of academic discourse discernible? This study explores such questions through a diachronic longitudinal examination of the how the medieval feudal system is depicted in Hessian school history textbooks published between 1945 and 2015. After assembling as representative a study sample as possible the researchers develop a list of questions, based on the different curricula and medievalist principles, to enable defined examples to be revealed of changes in textbook depictions. Finally the study re-examines and compares the diverse factors influencing the creation of new history textbooks and the revision of existing texts and evaluates what bearing such factors have on changes to textbooks.

Full text (German, PDF)

English summary (PDF)