The Lure of Grand Narratives: A dilemma for history teachers

Grand narratives, often based on nationalism but also on other 19th century ideologies, used to be mediated by history education and public history to young generations. Their problems became obvious after the de-ideological turn after the Second World War. Grand narratives became obsolete due to their epistemological and ethical unsustainability. Their evidential basis was weak and, ethically, they most often excluded ethnic and social minorities from the story. Approaches like "history from below" and multiperspectivality took over in historiography and history education. However, in Europe the political turn in 1989-1991revitalised the grand national narratives in Eastern Central Europe. Political leaders used them to consolidate the rebuilt nation-states. History is once again misused in politics, and it is left to teachers to defend the integrity of history and teach how to critically deal with hisstorical knowledge